Design and Development of a Compact Coin-operated Rice Milling System for Rural Communities

Abstract

This study aimed to: 1) investigate the problems and service needs of farmers regarding rice milling facilities, 2) design and develop a small-scale coin-operated rice milling machine tailored for community use, and 3) evaluate users’ satisfaction with the developed system. The target population comprised 122 residents from Village No. 7, Kham Yat Sub-district, Pho Thong District, Ang Thong Province. Research instruments included a structured survey to assess issues and demands associated with existing rice milling services, SolidWorks and Arduino IDE software for machine design and control system development, and a users’ satisfaction questionnaire.

The research results revealed that 1) the problems and needs of the farmers were the long travel distances to the rice mill and the waiting time for rice milling during the harvest season. 2) The design of a coin-operated rice milling machine showed that it could operate on an average of 12.9 kilograms of rice per 10 minutes. Finally, 3) the results of the satisfaction assessment of the small coin-operated rice milling machines for communities in terms of overall efficiency and suitability were at the highest level.