Design of an Automated Liquid Dispensing and Packaging System for Small-Scale Beverage Producers in Kaduna State

Small and medium-scale beverage producers in Kaduna State, North West Nigeria, rely heavily on manual bottle filling and capping processes that are slow, inconsistent in fill volume, and prone to contamination. This project presents the design of an automated liquid dispensing and capping system intended for small-scale zobo drink and fruit juice producers. The system uses a peristaltic pump for hygienic liquid metering, controlled by an Arduino Mega microcontroller that regulates pump run time to deliver a target fill volume of 500 millilitres per bottle. A proximity sensor detects bottle presence on the conveyor belt, which is driven by a stepper motor to index bottles between the fill station and the capping station. A servo-actuated capping head applies plastic screw caps after filling. Volume accuracy was calibrated by filling 100 bottles in sequence and measuring fill volumes gravimetrically. Mean fill volume deviation was 4.2 millilitres, which is within the three percent tolerance acceptable for beverages under Nigerian Standards Organisation guidelines. Throughput was measured at 240 bottles per hour, compared to approximately 80 bottles per hour achievable by a two-person manual filling team. The system was demonstrated to five zobo drink producers in Kaduna North Local Government Area, all of whom expressed willingness to adopt the technology if unit cost fell within 300,000 Naira, which the study estimates is achievable with local procurement of components. Keywords: automated dispensing, beverage packaging, peristaltic pump, small-scale industry, Kaduna State