**5. Conclusions**

was followed by the mounting of the moulds. The male component of the mould was bolted onto a metal plate which is welded to the headstock of the frame, and the female component was fitted via bolting onto the moveable H-slide (see **Figure 28**). The lever system which is used to control the lifting of the H-slide bearing the female mould during pressing and release of the moulds, was subsequently fixed in place (see **Figure 29**) and test run to assess the mould alignment (see **Figure 30**). The hydraulic jack was thereafter installed and tested in operation with the lever as shown in **Figure 31**. Finally, the hydraulic control box was installed and connected to the jack and the entire frame was sprayed with paint to improve its aesthetic and prevent rusting (see **Figure 32**). The making of the frame and the hydraulic control box, as well as the assembly of the moulds was done at Danzaki Engineering Services, a privately-owned mechanical engineering workshop in Akure, Nigeria.

The outcome of the study showed the local availability of the required skills and

material resources to locally manufacture a ceramic water filter hydraulic press machine in Nigeria. The total cost of the local production of the press though slightly above the set target, is approximated at \$1000 USD and is about one-thirds of the cost of acquiring a press of similar specifications of foreign origin without the

The manufactured ceramic water filter press was effective in the shaping of ceramic water filters as indicated in the evenness in form and thickness of the filters

The technical specifications of the ceramic water filters produced from the manufactured filter press are outlined as having an inner height of 15 cm and inner diameter of 28.5 cm; with an estimated volume capacity of 12 L. This is specified to fit into a 30-L capacity bucket with a rim diameter of 30 cm. Shrinkage allowance of 10% was estimated and factored into the design to ensure the resulting filters fit

However, there were a few limitations to the study as outlined thus: At the size required for the set of moulds, it was difficult to find a lathe machine of a size that could hold the cast moulds for machining. Therefore, alternative materials may be explored besides aluminium, especially such materials as would not require

**4. Results and discussion**

*Design and Manufacturing*

onto the desired bucket.

**Figure 33.**

**250**

*Freshly pressed ceramic water filter using the fabricated press.*

attending shipping and clearing costs.

pressed during a test run of the filter press (see **Figure 33**).

This book chapter documents the procedure and results obtained in a study carried out to explore the local manufacturing of a ceramic filter press in order to prove the viability and cost efficiency of producing it locally as compared with the cost of acquiring the imported presses. This is in a view to encourage the set-up of more ceramic water filter producing factories in Nigeria, thereby bringing closer home the technology that would make clean, safe water more accessible and available to communities and households across the country.

The study indicates that ceramic water filter presses with hydraulic components as well as its corresponding set of moulds can be successfully and inexpensively manufactured in Nigeria, using all materials and skills sourced locally from within the country.
