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DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE AUTOMATED SUGARCANE HARVESTER AUTHORED BY T.MADHAN KUMAR P.P.MAHALINGAM
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Page 1: Sugarcane Harvester

DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE

AUTOMATED SUGARCANE

HARVESTER

AUTHORED BY

T.MADHAN KUMAR

P.P.MAHALINGAM

PRE-FINAL YEAR

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

GOVERNMENT COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

TIRUNELVELI-627 007

Page 2: Sugarcane Harvester

1. ABSTRACT:This idea was born after

practically witnessing the hardships

encountered by rural farmers in

harvesting saplings. In recent years

labor is not available for carrying out

basic agricultural operations. The same

problems are happening for the

sugarcane and tapioca cultivators. India

is one of the major producers of

sugarcane and tapioca, In the sugarcane

production India is ranking in second

position with 4.09 millon hectares and

producing 283 million tonnes with the

production of 72.6 tonnes per hectare

and also in tns producing 7620200

tonnes in 242400.0 hectares with 17500

kgs per hectare. The main objective of

this project paper is to demonstrate the

process of harvesting tall field plants

like sugarcane by cutting it and

placing it into a box using grippers.

Our ideas are mainly concentrated

towards the basic mechanical,

pneumatic and electrical systems to

frame the project with robotic

resemblance. With the increasing

demands for energy, we may face the

energy crisis and thus the system is

targeted to work with high efficiency,

without any fuel power requirements.

The difference between manual and

automated harvest is nearly 1/20 per

hectare of the total cost, which saves

around Rs. 5000 per hectare. Thus this

simplifies the initial stage of the sugar

and its bi- product production for the

industries.

2. INTRODUCTION:

Automated sugarcane harvester

is a unique, noble idea (which has been

materialized) aimed towards the

betterment of humanity. This idea of

fabricating a project that can harvest

tall plants like sugarcane came across

when it was known that manual labor

still persists in such fields. It has the

capability of harvesting four crops at a

time. The project is a simple idea which

consists of a movable mechanical base

coupled with a gripper and a motor to

move the gripper arm setup to the side

after harvesting the crops. It works on

pneumatic power with two cylinders

ready to facilitate the process. Circular

saw is fixed at the base of the movable

mechanical base. A motor setup is used

to turn the mechanical arm 90 degrees

to either side as required by the user.

The motor is powered by the use of a 12

volt battery. The mechanical base is

moved by the use of four wheels

Page 3: Sugarcane Harvester

3. DESCRIPTION OF COMPONENTS:MECHANICAL BASE:

The mechanical base gives the

foundation of the project. It is able to

move with the help of the four wheels

welded at its base. The handle used by

the user is placed just

50 mm from the top of the controls.

The length of the handle is just 160 mm

which is an adequate measurement

when considering the palm of a person.

In order to provide a base for the

control valves, a small platform is made

to sustain control valves. A person can

easily operate the mechanism since it is

placed at hip length of a person. The

wheels have a diameter of 185 mm

with the tube on and 150 mm without

the tubes. It is welded 60 mm from the

base.

4. AIR COMPRESSOR

A compressor is a machine that

compresses air or any other type of

gas from a low inlet pressure (usually

atmospheric) to a high desired pressure

level. This is accomplished by reducing

the volume of the gas. Air compressors

are generally positive displacement

units and are either of the reciprocating

piston type or the rotary screw type or

rotary vane types. In this project,

automated sugarcane harvester,

reciprocating type compressor (multi

stage) has been used.

5. DIRECTION CONTROL VALVES

Direction control valves are

used to control the direction of flow of

pneumatic air or hydraulic fluid in the

circuit. Any valve contains the ports

that are external openings through

which fluid can enter and leave via

connecting pipelines. The number of

ports on a direction control valves is

identified using the term way as

shown in the figure below.

In this project, 5/2 Direction control valve is used with the specification. 5/2 DCV -SMSN MODEL -4210 1.5-08 Kgf/cm2

Page 4: Sugarcane Harvester

Direction control valve

6. PNEUMATIC CYLINDERS

Pneumatic cylinders (sometimes

known as air cylinders) are mechanical

devices, which produce force, often in

combination with movement, and are

powered by compressed gas (typically

air).

To perform their function,

pneumatic cylinders impart a force by

converting the potential energy of

compressed gas into kinetic energy. This

is achieved by the compressed gas being

able to expand, without external energy

input, which itself occurs due to the

pressure gradient established by the

compressed gas being at a greater

pressure than the atmospheric pressure.

This air expansion forces a piston to

move in the desired direction.

Pneumatic cylinder

7. SPUR GEAR

Spur gears have teeth parallel to

the axes and thus, are not subjected to

axial thrust due to tooth load. At the

time of engagement of the two gears,

the contact extends across the entire

width on a line parallel to the axes of

rotation.

Spur gear

Page 5: Sugarcane Harvester

8. CIRCULAR SAW:

The circular saw is used to cut the

sugarcane at the base of the stalk. This

makes it easier for the gripper to grab

and put it at the side. We have used a 4

inch circular cutter which has forty

teeth to facilitate the cutting process.

The cutter has to be used in clockwise

rotation since the teeth are faced in that

way. It has a 20 mm arbor which is

adequate. This cutter is placed at 150

mm at the midpoint of the mechanical

base. The circular saw is activated by

a foot switch that pushes it forward.

The circular saw is rotated

continuously by the use of a simple

AC motor. As soon as the foot is

released from the switch, the saw

returns to its original position.

9. MECHANICAL GRIPPER:

The gripper is the important part

of the project. It measures 650 mm in

length and is fixed in pairs. The gripper

has ten high tension springs with

which the sugarcane can be held as

shown .As soon as the gripper arms

close up on the sugarcane crop, the

springs take up the shape of the

sugarcane. This gives it a good grip on

the crop and several of such crops.

It works on the property of

pneumatics in which different bar

pressures are applied to the cylinder.

The arm is lifted based on the

pressure provided to the lifting

cylinder. More the pressure applied,

more is the power of the gripper to lift

the plants. When closed the clearance is

10 mm while open its 145 mm. It is

made up of nickel steel.

Spring controlled gripper

10. DC MOTORS: The DC motors used may be of

brushed or brushless type. Many of the

limitations of the classic commutator

DC motor are eliminated in the

brushless motor. In this motor, the

mechanical "rotating switch" or

commutator/brush gear assembly is

replaced by an external electronic switch

synchronized to the rotor's position.

Brushless motors are typically 85-90%

efficient, whereas DC motors with brush

gear are typically 75-80% efficient.

Page 6: Sugarcane Harvester

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:

The overall size of the project is 27

inch x14 inch x 27 inch. Thus the

overall assembly consists of mechanical,

electrical and pneumatic components as

shown .In a nutshell, this project was

implemented in a few acres of land. The

whole setup is moved manually to the

bunch of sugarcanes. The arm lever is

diverted to a side which activates it to

move vertically upward. Then the

gripper lever is diverted to a side which

opens the gripper. Then the setup is

moved forward so that the gripper comes

in the vicinity of the sugarcanes. After

this, it is closed by the use of the gripper

lever. Further the foot pedal is pressed in

the downward direction and these

results in forward motion of the

circular saw. The mechanical arm setup

is rotated with the help of the DC wiper

motor and the gripper arm is rotated 90

degrees to either side based on the users

need. Then the gripper lever is diverted

to the opposite side and the gripper

opens up. The crops are then dropped

to the ground.

Overall assembly

OPTIMIZATION AND SYUDY:

13. ANALYSIS OF FORCE-PRESSURE RELATIONSHIP

When P = 1 bar, Cylinder diameter = 60 mm

Then F = 282.74 N

When P = 1.25 bar, Cylinder diameter = 60 mm

Then F = 353.42 N

When P = 2 bar. Cylinder diameter = 60 mm

Then F = 565.48 N

When P = 2.5 bar, Cylinder diameter = 60 mm

Then F = 706.85 N

Page 7: Sugarcane Harvester

Force Vs Pressure relationship.

The pneumatic supply is through the

compressor, which has been regulated,

as per the experimental study, with the

help of FRL unit. This pneumatic supply

is given to the 4 gripper positions per

gripper arm via hoses at the orifices of

the gripper positions. With respect to

the cylinder diameter the force acted

upon on these orifices has been

calculated

14. COMPARISON BETWEEN

MANUAL AND AUTOMATED

HARVEST:

The difference between

manual and automated harvest is

nearly 1/20 per acre of the total cost.

Manual harvest - Rs8000 per acre

Automated harvest -Rs3000 per acre

15. ADVANTAGES:

• The working fluid is very light in weight so supply hoses are not heavy. • Fast response of the pneumatic system. • Reduces the need for manpower and labour cost.

16. FURTHUR MODIFICATIONS:

Stack can be fixed at the

sideways to place the sugarcanes. Shock

absorbers can be placed, so that smooth

movement of wheel on the hard terrain is

eased.

17. CONCLUSIONS:

With respect to the current

statistics as per formulated by the UN

food and agricultural organization, India

still lags behind the top spot Brazil in

sugar and its byproducts production.

Since, sugar and its byproducts is one

of the highly consumed and one of the

essential goods in day to day life, with

the concept and knowledge of science

and engineering, the target of India as to

be highest producers of sugar and its by

products can be reached. Automated

sugarcane harvester is one such initial

stage of the application of science and

engineering to simplify the harvesting

of sugarcane thereby gradual increment

in the production of sugar and it’s by

products.

Page 8: Sugarcane Harvester

This not only leads to the social

development but also the overall

economy of India can be boosted up. As

automation sector has taken up almost all

the sectors, we realized that the

implementation of automation in the

agricultural sector can quadruple the

rate of production but also keeping in

view of the issues like safety and work

ethical values thereby not disturbing

upon the agriculture employment sector.

Though this model has been practiced

and successfully implemented on few

acres of sugarcane field, with the further

modifications such as efficient riding of

this automated machine, this can be

brought onto the large acres of land.

18. REFERENCES:

1. Anthony Esposito, (2000) - ‘Fluid Power’, pp 300-373.

2. Henk Bakker, (1999) - ‘Sugarcane Cultivation and Management’, pp 279-461.

3. H.H.De, (2002) - ‘Electric motor and Control techniques’, pp 23-70.

4. Irving M. Gottlieb, (1994) - ‘Alternatives in Industrial development: Sugarcane processing in India’ pp 122-140.

5. R.S.Khurmi, (1993) - ‘Theory of Machines’ pp 86-94, 121-230.

6. Robert L. Boylestead, Louis Nashelsky, (2003) - ‘Electronics devices and circuit theory’, pg 67-130.

7. http://www.economywatch.com