Design and development of sugarcane peeler-cum-cutter machine

Abstract:

A dual-purpose machine engineered for stripping the outer rind from sugarcane stalks and subsequently chopping them into smaller segments was developed during this study. This equipment is composed of three main subsystems: the peeling mechanism, the slicing assembly, and the drivetrain. The outer husk is stripped away through the frictional contact generated by three sets of opposing wire-brush rollers. These brush units are mounted onto a revolving disc connected to a central hollow spindle, which receives its mechanical power from a D.C. motor via a V-belt drive system. At the terminal end of this hollow spindle, a specific opening is maintained. As cane stalks are fed through this opening, the rind is removed, and the separated waste material is subsequently expelled through a designated outlet port. This gap can be modified to accommodate variations in the thickness of different sugarcane stalks. A series of preliminary trials were undertaken to establish the most effective rotational speed and clearance setting for the rollers. Following this, the system's operational effectiveness was assessed by examining several key metrics, including the rind-removal rate, the overall processing throughput, and the proportion of damaged produce. The equipment demonstrated a processing rate of 90 kilograms per hour, and when operating under the ideal parameter settings, the rind-stripping efficacy was recorded at 58 percent.