This invention relates to an Animal Feed Block Formation Machine consisting of cylinders, power pack, electric control panel and frame; particularly to make complete feed blocks of different sizes using different kinds of roughages based feed sources; more particularly to reduce the transportation, storage and handling cost of feed substantially.
Brief Description of the Invention
A hydraulic machine, capable of compacting animal feed materials into feed blocks of 20 cms x 20 cms x variable thickness, has been developed. The size of the feed block could be varied with appropriate adaptors. The machine has been tested extensively for different crop straw and menu based feed mixtures for cattle. The machine has immense potential in the management, storage and transportation of animal feed. It would facilitate convenient and economic storage and transportation of animal feed from surplus to the scarcity areas. It would also be very useful for making fuel briquettes from crop residues and agricultural waste mixtures.
Principle involved in the Invention:
The main principle involved in the invention is the drained compression of animal feed (or biomaterials) in a mould of the size, using hydraulic power to attain volume reduction. The animal feed may be purely the crop residues, leaves and straw or a prescribed feed menu containing crop straw, molasses, concentrates, diet supplements and minerals as may be desired by animal nutrition experts. The compressed feed block could be a compacted block of crop straw or it may be a complete, ready to eat feed in measured weights. The animal feed of a given volume is compressed, by application of pressure through a hydraulic cylinder, while allowing escape of trapped air in the material. The draining of air is required to reduce hydraulic pressures, easier compression, stability of the feed block and structural safety of the machine. The compression is done to a predetermined volume of the feed material.
Originality / Novelty of the Invention:
The machine is based on a concept of animal feed management in a manner and scale which are of material consequences but have not been used so far. The crop materials, including menu based animal feed mixtures, can be reduced in volume a minimum of 4-5 times with the machine. This allows savings in storage space and transportation costs by the same factors. Employing these machines strategic feed banks of animal feed can be planned across the country irrespective of whether specific crops (straw) are grown in these areas. This would be of immense use in management of animal feed during droughts, floods, quakes and scarcity situations. Prescribed feed rations could be compressed into feed blocks and stored safely over long times, to be used whenever these are required. Their transport would be easier and quicker than the existing helpless situations in cases of disaster management of cattle feed.
Advantages over other known alternatives including Imported Alternatives
There is no feed block making machines available on the farm. The feed is stored in its natural bulk density. At natural density the crop straws occupy large storage spaces and are prone to wastage and degeneration with time. The machine can be used very

effectively for management of these crop materials and animal feed rations based on roughages, concentrates and diet supplements. The advantages of this machine are:
1. It is simple in operation; only one person (unskilled / semiskilled) is required
to regulate the entire operations of the machine.
2. The working pressure of the machine can be varied upto 6000 psi.
3. It can compact all kinds of feed materials to square shape (20 cm X 20 cm)
and of desired thickness and weight.
4. The output capacity of the machine is 30 - 40 blocks per hour.
5. The bulk density of roughage based feed blocks from this machine has been
found to be 4 to 5 times more than the original feed. It would increase even
more if mixed with binders and concentrates.
6. Due to higher bulk density of blocks, these require much less storage space as
well as handling and transportation cost. Last column of Table 1 is almost the
direct advantage factor of using the machine.
7. There is no known import of such machines.
Detailed Description
The Animal Feed Block Formation Machine as per details provided in Fig. 1 and Plate 1 & 2 runs on a 10 hp electric motor and consists of the following components:
1. FRAME
It consists of a feeding chamber, compression chamber and feed block retention chamber. In addition to this, it supports hydraulic cylinders.
2. HYDRAULIC CYLINDER
The machine is having two hydraulic cylinders of different sizes. The bigger cylinder is used for compression of feed and the smaller cylinder is used for opening and closing the door of the compression chamber.
3. POWER PACK
It consists of high and low pressure pumps, pressure switch, pressure gauge, solenoid valve, oil reservoir, etc. The operation of hydraulic cylinder is conducted through high and low-pressure pumps. The direction of movement of cylinders is governed by solenoid valve.
4. ELECTRIC CONTROL PANEL
It regulates the timing of operation of hydraulic cylinders.
Manufacture
Properly sized animal feed material is placed in the hopper of the machine. The quantity of feed is calculated according to the volume (20 cms x 20 cms x L (thickness)) and the density desired of the feed block. The fed material may include diet supplements, molasses and appropriate binders. Using control on the console, the settings for cutoff pressure (and thickness of the feed block) are adjusted and the motor is started. The hydraulic cylinder moves with its cross-head compressing the
feed material into the mould. At the cutoff pressure, the cylinder stops; the second hydraulic cylinder is activated and opens the exit of the compression chamber. The main cylinder pushes the compressed feed block out of the chamber. The cycle of events is automatic and the cycle time may be upto 90 seconds.
Use
The feed blocks having all nutrients required for an animal for maintenance and production are prepared by using various straws/roughages and concentrates using densification process with the animal feed block formation machine. These are fed to the animals as per their daily requirement which is based on their body weight and rate of production.
Example 1: The feed block straw comes out from the thresher is mixed with concentrate and densified with the machine. Thus requiring a process which has only two operations. Mixing and compaction.
Example 2: The feed block from fodder crops such as Sorghum, Barley, Cluster bean etc. requires size reduction, drying, mixing and compaction in the developed machine.
Example 3: The complete feed blocks from Grasses requires size reduction - drying - mixing and compaction in the developed machine.
Performance
The machine has been evaluated for a number of crop materials, which are normally used as animal feed. The natural bulk density, the bulk density after compaction and the compression ratio of some of the common feed materials is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Bulk density of raw feeds and blocks(Table Removed)
Thus, a volume reduction in animal feed materials from crop straw is achieved from 4 to 11 times. If the costs of storage space and transportation of these materials is considered the costs could reduce profitably by similar factors.

4. We claim:
1. An animal feed block formation machine (AFBFM) for commercial production
of crop residue based complete densified animal feed block which could be used
as balanced diet for vast animal population and could be economically
transported from surplus to scarcity areas, stored and handled consists of main
frame (12) made of mild steel channel and fitted with foundation plates (15) at
the bottom, main bale cylinder (1) mounted horizontally with mounting bolts
(16) on the frame (12) for compression of feed mix into high density feed
blocks and ejection of feed block, door cylinder (7) mounted vertically between
the main chamber (17) and exit guide (10) and is attached with a air vented exit
door (9) which remains closed during compression and open during ejection of
block, hopper (5) fitted at the top of the main chamber, main chamber (17) with
air vents made of mild steel plates and supported on frame mounting lugs (13)
and packing blocks (14), horizontal sliding top charge lid (4) with hinge set (6)
between the main chamber (17) and feed hopper (5), exit guide (10) for feed
block retention made of mild steel plates and fitted on support plate (11), power
pack (18) and electric control panel (19);
2. An animal feed block formation machine as claimed in the claim 1, the main
bale cylinder (1) is double acting and made of seamless mild steel pipe and the
ram of the cylinder is attached with mild steel baling punch (2) and covered
with top cover plate (3);
3. An animal feed block formation machine as claimed in the claim 1, the door
cylinder (7) is double acting and made of seamless pipe and is fitted on door
cylinder frame (8) and the ram of the cylinder is attached with exit door (9);
4. An animal feed block formation machine as claimed in claim 1, the power pack
(18) is based on a designed oil circuit and has vane pump, plunger pump, filter,
solenoid valve, non returning valve, pressure relief valve, breather, oil reservoir,
oil level indicator;
5. An animal feed block formation machine as claimed in the claim 1, the electric
control panel (19) works as per design circuit and comprises of contractors,
timers, limit switches;