DESIGNANDOPTIMIZATIONOFTHE AUTOMATEDSUGARCANEHARVESTER
AUTHORED BY
T.MADHAN KUMAR P.P.MAHALINGAM
PRE-FINALYEAR
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
TIRUNELVELI-627 007
1. ABSTRACT:
Thisideawasbornafterpractically witnessing thehardshipsencountered byruralfarmersinharvestingsaplings.Inrecentyearslaborisnotavailable forcarrying out basicagriculturaloperations.Thesameproblemsarehappeningforthesugarcaneand tapiocacultivators.Indiaisoneofthemajor producers ofsugarcaneandtapioca,Inthe sugarcane productionIndiaisrankinginsecondpositionwith4.09millonhectaresand producing283milliontonneswiththeproduction of72.6tonnesperhectareandalsoin tnsproducing 7620200tonnesin242400.0hectareswith17500kgsper hectare.Themainobjectiveofthisprojectpaperistodemonstrate theprocessof harvestingtallfieldplantslikesugarcanebycuttingitandplacingitintoaboxusing grippers.Ourideasaremainlyconcentratedtowardsthebasicmechanical,pneumaticand electricalsystemstoframetheprojectwithroboticresemblance. Withtheincreasing demandsforenergy,wemayfacetheenergycrisisandthusthesystemistargetedto workwithhighefficiency,withoutanyfuelpowerrequirements.Thedifferencebetween manualandautomatedharvestisnearly 1/20perhectare ofthetotalcost,whichsaves aroundRs.5000perhectare.Thusthissimplifies theinitialstageofthesugaranditsbi- productproductionfortheindustries.
2. INTRODUCTION:
Automated sugarcaneharvesterisaunique,nobleidea(whichhasbeen materialized)aimedtowardsthe bettermentof humanity.This idea of fabricatinga projectthatcanharvesttallplantslikesugarcane cameacrosswhenitwasknownthat manuallaborstillpersistsinsuchfields.Ithasthecapabilityofharvestingfour cropsata time.Theprojectisasimpleideawhichconsistsofamovablemechanical basecoupled withagripperandamotortomovethegripperarmsetuptothesideafterharvestingthe crops. Itworksonpneumaticpowerwithtwocylindersreadytofacilitatetheprocess. Circularsawisfixedatthebaseofthemovablemechanicalbase. Amotorsetupisused toturn the mechanicalarm90degreestoeitherside asrequiredbytheuser. Themotoris poweredbytheuseofa12voltbattery.The mechanicalbase ismovedby theuseoffour wheels
3. DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS:
MECHANICAL BASE:
Themechanicalbasegivesthefoundationoftheproject.Itisabletomovewith thehelpofthefourwheelsweldedatitsbase.Thehandleusedbytheuserisplacedjust
50mmfromthetopofthecontrols. Thelengthofthehandle isjust160mmwhichisan adequatemeasurementwhenconsideringthepalmofaperson.Inordertoprovideabase forthecontrolvalves,asmallplatform ismadetosustaincontrolvalves.Apersoncan easilyoperatethemechanismsinceitisplacedathip lengthof aperson.Thewheelshave adiameterof185mmwiththetubeonand150mmwithoutthetubes.Itiswelded60 mmfromthebase.
4. AIRCOMPRESSOR
Acompressorisamachinethatcompressesairoranyothertypeofgasfroma lowinletpressure(usuallyatmospheric) toahighdesiredpressurelevel.Thisis accomplishedbyreducingthevolumeofthegas.Aircompressors aregenerally positive displacementunits andareeitherofthereciprocatingpistontypeortherotaryscrewtype orrotaryvanetypes.Inthisproject,automatedsugarcaneharvester,reciprocatingtype compressor(multistage)hasbeenused.
5. DIRECTIONCONTROLVALVES
Directioncontrolvalvesareusedtocontrol thedirectionofflowofpneumaticair orhydraulicfluidin thecircuit.Anyvalvecontainstheportsthatare external openingsthroughwhichfluidcanenterandleaveviaconnectingpipelines.Thenumber ofportsonadirectioncontrolvalvesisidentifiedusingthetermwayasshowninthe figurebelow.
Inthisproject,5/2Directioncontrolvalveisusedwiththespecification.
5/2 DCV -SMSN
MODEL -4210
1.5-08 Kgf/cm2
Direction control valve
6. PNEUMATICCYLINDERS
Pneumatic cylinders(sometimes knownasaircylinders)are mechanicaldevices,whichproduceforce,oftenincombination withmovement,andare poweredbycompressedgas (typicallyair).
Toperformtheirfunction,pneumaticcylindersimpartaforcebyconverting the potentialenergy ofcompressedgasintokineticenergy.Thisisachieved bythe compressedgasbeingabletoexpand,withoutexternalenergy input,whichitselfoccurs due tothepressuregradientestablishedbythecompressedgasbeingatagreaterpressure thantheatmospheric pressure.Thisairexpansionforcesapistontomoveinthedesired direction.
Pneumatic cylinder
7. SPURGEAR
Spurgearshaveteethparalleltotheaxesandthus,arenotsubjectedtoaxialthrust duetotoothload.Atthetimeofengagementofthetwogears, thecontactextendsacross theentirewidthonalineparalleltotheaxesofrotation.
Spur gear
8. CIRCULAR SAW:
Thecircularsawisusedtocutthesugarcaneatthebaseofthestalk.Thismakesit easierforthegripper tograbandputitattheside.Wehaveuseda4inchcircular cutter whichhasforty teethtofacilitatethecuttingprocess.Thecutterhastobeusedin clockwise rotationsincetheteetharefacedinthatway.Ithasa20mmarborwhichis adequate.Thiscutterisplacedat150mmatthemidpoint ofthemechanical base.The circularsawisactivatedbyafootswitchthatpushesitforward.Thecircularsawis rotatedcontinuouslybytheuseofasimpleACmotor.Assoonasthefootisreleased fromtheswitch,thesawreturnstoitsoriginalposition.
9. MECHANICALGRIPPER:
The gripperisthe importantpartoftheproject. Itmeasures650 mminlength and isfixedinpairs.Thegripperhastenhightensionspringswithwhichthesugarcanecan be held asshown.As soonas thegripperarmscloseupon thesugarcanecrop,thesprings takeuptheshapeofthesugarcane. Thisgivesitagoodgriponthecropandseveralof suchcrops.
It workson thepropertyofpneumaticsin whichdifferentbarpressuresare appliedtothecylinder.Thearmisliftedbasedonthepressureprovidedtothelifting cylinder. Morethepressure applied, moreisthepowerofthegripper tolifttheplants. Whenclosedtheclearanceis10mmwhileopenits145mm.It ismadeupofnickelsteel.
Spring controlled gripper
10. DC MOTORS:
The DC motors used may be of brushed or brushless type. ManyofthelimitationsoftheclassiccommutatorDCmotorareeliminatedinthebrushless motor. Inthismotor,themechanical"rotatingswitch"orcommutator/brush gear assemblyis replacedbyanexternalelectronicswitchsynchronizedtotherotor'sposition. Brushless motorsaretypically85-90%efficient,whereasDCmotorswithbrushgearare typically75-80%efficient.
11. MOTOR SPECIFICATIONS:
Two speed wiper motor
Motor runs at 40 rpm
Motor draws 3.1 ampere at no load, 12 V
Size of the motor may be 7 inch*3.25 inch*4inch.
May be electrically isolated
12. OVERALL ASSEMBLY:
Theoverallsizeoftheprojectis27inchx14inchx27inch.Thustheoverall assemblyconsistsofmechanical,electricalandpneumaticcomponentsasshown.Ina nutshell,thisprojectwasimplementedinafewacresofland.Thewholesetupismoved manuallytothebunchofsugarcanes.Thearmleverisdivertedtoasidewhichactivates ittomoveverticallyupward.Thenthegripper leverisdivertedtoasidewhichopensthe gripper.Thenthesetupismovedforwardsothatthegrippercomesinthevicinityofthe sugarcanes.Afterthis,itisclosedbytheuseof thegripperlever. Furtherthe footpedalis pressedinthedownwarddirectionandtheseresultsinforwardmotionofthecircular saw.Themechanical armsetupisrotatedwiththehelpoftheDCwipermotorandthe gripperarmisrotated 90degrees toeithersidebasedontheusersneed.Thenthegripper leverisdivertedtotheoppositesideandthegripperopensup.Thecropsarethen droppedtotheground.
Overall assembly
OPTIMIZATION AND SYUDY:
13. ANALYSISOFFORCE-PRESSURERELATIONSHIP
WhenP =1bar,Cylinderdiameter=60mm
ThenF =282.74N
WhenP =1.25bar,Cylinderdiameter=60mm
ThenF =353.42N
WhenP =2bar.Cylinderdiameter=60mm
ThenF =565.48N
WhenP =2.5bar,Cylinderdiameter=60mm
ThenF =706.85N
ForceVsPressurerelationship.
Thepneumaticsupplyisthroughthecompressor,whichhasbeenregulated,asperthe experimental study,withthehelpofFRLunit.Thispneumaticsupply isgiventothe4 gripperpositionspergripperarmviahosesattheorificesofthegripperpositions. With respect to the cylinder diameter the force acted upon on these orifices has been calculated
14. COMPARISONBETWEEN MANUALAND AUTOMATED HARVEST:
Thedifferencebetweenmanualandautomatedharvestisnearly1/20per acreof thetotalcost.
Manual harvest - Rs8000 per acre
Automated harvest -Rs3000 per acre
15. ADVANTAGES:
•Theworkingfluidisverylightinweightsosupplyhosesarenotheavy.
•Fastresponseofthepneumaticsystem.
•Reducestheneedformanpowerandlabourcost.
16. FURTHUR MODIFICATIONS:
Stackcanbefixedatthesidewaystoplacethesugarcanes.Shockabsorberscan beplaced,sothatsmoothmovementofwheelonthehardterrainiseased.
17. CONCLUSIONS:
Withrespecttothecurrentstatisticsasperformulated bytheUNfoodand agricultural organization, IndiastilllagsbehindthetopspotBrazilinsugarandits byproductsproduction.Since,sugaranditsbyproductsisoneofthehighlyconsumed andoneoftheessentialgoodsindaytodaylife,withtheconceptandknowledgeof scienceandengineering,thetargetofIndiaastobehighestproducersofsugaranditsby productscanbereached. Automated sugarcane harvesterisonesuchinitialstageofthe applicationofscienceandengineeringtosimplifytheharvestingofsugarcanethereby gradualincrementintheproductionofsugarandit’sbyproducts.
Thisnotonly leadsto thesocialdevelopmentbutalsotheoveralleconomy ofIndiacanbeboostedup.As automationsectorhas takenupalmostall thesectors,we realizedthattheimplementation ofautomationintheagriculturalsectorcanquadrupletherateofproductionbutalso keeping inviewoftheissueslikesafetyandworkethicalvaluesthereby notdisturbing upontheagricultureemployment sector.Thoughthismodelhasbeenpracticedand successfullyimplementedonfewacresofsugarcane field,withthefurthermodifications suchasefficientridingofthisautomatedmachine,thiscanbebroughtontothelarge acresofland.
18. REFERENCES:
1. AnthonyEsposito,(2000)-‘FluidPower’,pp300-373.
2. HenkBakker,(1999)-‘SugarcaneCultivationandManagement’, pp279-461.
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4. Irving M. Gottlieb, (1994) - ‘Alternativesin Industrial development:Sugarcane processinginIndia’pp122-140.
5. R.S.Khurmi,(1993)- ‘TheoryofMachines’pp86-94,121-230.
6. RobertL.Boylestead,LouisNashelsky,(2003)-‘Electronicsdevicesandcircuit theory’,pg67-130.
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