Design and construction of a medium scale sugarcane de-trashing machine.

Abstract

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is the world's largest crop by production quantity. In addition to it being used for sugar production as a primary use which is then used in producing a number of products such as cakes, soft drinks, alcohol and numerous other foods, it's also a source of income to the out growers- During harvesting operation, detrashing of cut sugarcane stalk is an important activity aimed at delivering cane stalks of good quality to the mill which is measured by sucrose and trash content. However, the existing sugarcane de-trashing machines are big, expensive and some are coupled with a strong walking tractor with a high power diesel engine which Ugandan out growers cannot afford thus have remained used in highly sugarcane producing countries. The aim of this study is to design a small potable diesel engine powered sugarcane detrashing machine to help reduce on the much time taken in manual detrashing of cut sugarcanes, reduce on the number of cane cutters employed and increase the detrashing efficiency. Designing and constructing of the various components of the sugarcane detrashing machine involved putting into consideration of the minimum force that can cause cracking of the top part of the cane in determining the appropriate diameter of the roller, determining the centrifugal force required to pull the cane through the detrashing unit, determining the appropriate size of the detrashing unit and analyzing the forces acting on the components to prevent failure of the machine during operation. Force analysis led to selection of proper materials to withstand the forces to avoid failure. Engineering drawings of the various components of the machine were designed before the machine was constructed and assembled. The performance of the sugarcane detrashing machine was construction and evaluated taking into consideration the feeding capacity, time taken and the efficiency of the machine. The obtained results reveal that it is recommended to operate the machine with a diesel engine of 2800rpm, rollers groove separation of 31mm (minimum cane diameter), and brush fiber separation of 36mm (maximum cane diameter). Therefore, it is recommended that this sugarcane detrashing machine should be manufactured and put to test by the sugarcane out growers in Uganda and will help to eliminate sugarcane burning, minimize the costs in harvesting operation, speed up the sugarcane de-trashing process and hence increase on the production output.