Team Ideabag are trying to come up with simple ways of mixing dry particulates in a cheap and efficient manner and the prototypes shown in the video are demonstrations of the three concepts that we are considering.
Concept 1: Rotary Drum
Good mixing process
Lots of dust created
Quick mixing
Concept 2: Funnel+Blender
Funnel design has potential – no problems except stickiness (see below) that meant that materials don’t go down at the same time
Both flour and sugar stick to itself – got stuck in the funnel so required shaking or poking at it
Smooth funnel shape better than flat bottom with a hole
Mixing box needs to be filled at least ½ or more in order for proper mixing – if less then blades will just push the material to the sides
Fin idea has potential - Fin size needs to match - not too small, needs to match size of container
Gave a pretty homogeneous mix
Possible improvement for safety: add a long chute to the funnel so particles won’t escape into air when dropping bags
Concept 3: Vibrating Pan
Vibration is good for mixing fine powders of similar particle size
Combination of tilting and vibrating action could work
Larger particle sizes mix well with each other, but not with particles of smaller size
Need further testing with actual raw materials at scale quantity
