Sorghum is threshed mostly using traditional method, whereby bunches of panicles are beaten against hard elements. This method is slow and energy consuming which often results in some losses due to the grain being broken or buried in the earth and low quality product. Machines have been developed to thresh the grains mechanically but these machines have complex features and are in most cases fragile, hence not easily adaptable in developing countries. Threshing of the grains require modern technology (machines) that can be easily maintained and repaired for effective utilization in underdeveloped and developing countries. Hence, this study aimed at developing a simple machine that will thresh sorghum efficiently so as to increase productivity. The designed machine consists of hopper, gasoline engine, shaft, bearing, v-belt, pulley and the threshing unit. The volume of hopper, volume of threshing drum, volume of threshing chamber, shaft diameter, speed of machine, belt length, linear velocity of belt, torque transmitted by shaft, bending moment, power required to thresh and selected power were obtained as 0.4582 m3 , 0.1648 m3 , 0.3879 m3 , 0.025 m, 708.0 rpm, 0.875 m, 7.20 ms-1 , 13.04 Nm, 64.98 Nm, 3.75 hp and 6.5 hp respectively.The performance indices of the machine indicated that it could be used effectively by small and medium scale processors to thresh sorghum that would meet market demands and standards.

Keywords : Design; Fabrication; Testing; Sorghum; Threshing; Machine