Design And Fabrication Of A Chaff Cutter

Description

ABSTRACT

This work is on design and fabrication of a chaff cutter. This machine targets new agriculture entrepreneurs and farmers working on factory farms, the fodder requirement is high in factory farms, as the feed is provided to cattle at one place unlike the traditional methods where they travelled miles and fed themselves. This machine performs three operations at same time which is cutting, chaffing and collecting operation. It is a compact machine which can cut up to two layers of grass at a time, firstly the grass is cut down using cutting blades with triangular teeth which cut the crops by scissoring action. Further the grass moves inside and chaffed by s shape chaff cutter blades , finally moves out by centrifugal force and collected outside in a gunny bag, It runs on diesel engine of 3HP, this power from engine, is provided through pulley and gear box arrangement to the cutter.  This machine can be a solution to the problems faced by farmers regarding cost and labour implementation.

Keywords: Chaff cutter, factory farms, scissoring action

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0     INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the project

1.2     Problem statement

1.3     Aim and objectives of the project

1.4     Advantages of chaff cutter

1.5     Scope and limitation of the project

CHAPTER TWO

2.0     LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1     Review of Chaff Cutter

2.2    Review of Related Studies

2.3     Types of Chaff Cutter

CHAPTER THREE

3.0     METHODOLOGY

3.1     Material selection

3.2     Construction for the choice of materials

3.3   Design considerations

3.4     Tools and instruments

3.5     Fabrication process

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0     RESULT ANALYSIS

4.1     Structure and working principle

4.2     Power Required To Drive Mechanism

4.3     Design and Calculations

4.4     Materials of Machine Parts

4.5     Cutter Assembly

4.6     Results

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0     CONCLUSION

5.1     Conclusion

5.2     References

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                           INTRODUCTION

1.1                              BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

In Northern part of Nigeria, animal husbandry is an integral part of the rural economy. The forage (dry or wet) production requires high labour, coupled with a lack of sufficient land for forage. Production and forage scarcity during the dry season means that available forage must be efficiently used to minimize waste. Traditionally, the farmers chop forage into small pieces for easy consumption by the animals. This method is tedious, time consuming and quite dangerous to operator, as well as low output and lack of uniformity.   The population of cattle in northern part of Nigeria in is in millions. For such kind of population traditional human powered fodder cutting machines were used, but due to this the efforts for running the machine was physically demanding. And as per today’s scenario the population of cattle is drastically increased. So to increase the productivity and reduce the physical effort required for running the machine the motorized machineries came into existence i.e. The power operated chaff cutters, but the machine is stationary, and the fodder need to be bought down from farms for chaffing which is again tedious and time consuming process, and also requires more number of labours which increases the cost, to overcome all this problem we designed a machine which cuts the crops chaffs it and fill it in sac bags.

Chaff Cutter Machine is hay or straw cutting machine which is used for uniform chopping of fodder for livestock to agro industries. In this paper, design and development of Chaff Cutter Machine is presented. The machine is developed gradually from basic machines into commercial standard machine that can be diesel engine driven to achieve various length of cut of chaff as per the preference.

1.2     Problem statement

A Chaff cutter is mechanical device used to cut the straw or hay into small pieces so as to mix it together and fed to cattle. This improves animal digestion and prevents animal from rejecting any part of their food.

Traditionally, chaff s were made by the farmers chopping forage into small pieces for easy consumption by the animals. This method is always tedious and time consuming.   So to increase the productivity and reduce the physical effort required for the traditional method of chaff cutting, presently fodder cutting machines are electric driven as well as hand operated or engine driven.

1.3     Aim and Objectives

The main aim of this work is to fabricate a chaff cutting machine using engine power which can be helpful in creating a soothing environment for farmers to work for hours in a perfect mood and thereafter provide food for livestock.

The objectives are:

• To ensure safety and make it compact.
• To provide good fodder for animal
• To save work time
• To save electricity consumption
• To provide pleasing/aesthetic look
• To get protection from dust
• To increase corrosion resistance of machine
• To Make It Portable easily

1.4    Advantages of chaff cutter

• Chaff cutter is engine driven, and these Chaff cutter benefits are that they are energy-efficient, and it saves time and human resources for cutting a large amount of chaff.
• This cutting blade is hardened to withstand pressure, and it is made wear-resistant.
• The engine used to drive the machine is single phased with 3000 – 4000 RPM (depending on model), enabling the equipment to work effectively and give incredible yield.
• Chaff cutter is a multipurpose machine. Apart from cutting chaffs, it can also provide a cutting solution to many things like grub, fodder, straw, etc.

1.5    Scope and limitation of the project

The scope of this work covers fabrication of a chaff cutter. In this machine, grass is cut down using cutting blades with triangular teeth which cut the crops by scissoring action. Further the grass moves inside and chaffed by s shape chaff cutter blades, finally moves out by centrifugal force and collected outside in a gunny bag. It runs on diesel engine of 3HP

CHAPTER TWO

     2.0                                   LITERATURE REVIEW

    2.1                                      Review of Chaff Cutter

Nutrition is the foundation of a livestock production system and proper nutrition is imperative for achieving high and sustained livestock productivity. The success of animal reproduction and health programme rests on proper nutrition. The cutting of crop resides into small pieces then feeding to the cattle, increases the consumption and palatability of feed, hence reducing the wastage.

Animal feeding is very important aspect of livestock husbandry. It is very necessary to have effective utilization of available feed sources. Chaff is hay cut into small pieces for feeding to livestock (Mohan and Kumar, 2004); it is a good fodder, and at its best is cleanly and evenly cut, free of dust, of good colour and with a fresh aroma. Chaff can be purchased from commercial chaff cutting mills (Wikipedia, 2009). Cutting chaff can be done by manually operated machine and electric operated one, As far as cutting by manually operated machine is concerned. Traditionally for the operator it is done manually which is physically demanding through it energy and postural requirements and is commonly regarded as source of drudgery (Kumar et al., 2004); many farmers associated with this task reported back, shoulder and wrist discomfort. It may also cause clinical or anatomical disorders and may affect worker’s health. By considering the above constraints in chaff cutting machine it is necessary to introduce the power operated chaff cutter looking to the shortage of labour, drudgery involved in manually operated chaff cutter operation. By keeping above facts in to the consideration present investigation has been made an attempt to study the performance evaluation of power operated chaff cutter.

2.2                                        Review of Related Studies

Laukik et al [2011]. This project was made by mechanical engineering students of GHRCE. They have made a compact harvester which can cut up to two rows of soya bean at a time , the machine works on a 3hp diesel engine . this machine was developed concerned to small scale growers.

Dinesh Mohan [2012] This paper was submitted under the transportation research and injury prevention program conducted at iit delhi the topic raised concerning the injuries taking place due to fodder cutting machine , the paper explains various safety measures to avoid the injuries taking place due to chaff cutter.

Zakiuddin Syed Kazi [2010] This project was made by students of Mechanical Engineering, Anjuman College of Engineering, Nagpur ,They made a human energized chaff cutter working on pedal power technology they generate the energy by pedaling mechanism and stores it in flywheel and uses the stored energy of flywheel for the chaffing operation , the human energized chaff cutter in very effective in areas where there is scarcity of electricity and the machine is economical and low maintenance as well.

Indian standard specification for power operated chaff cutter [2014] This book provides all the necessary information related to the construction of chaff cutter it helps in finding all the standard dimension of blades size and shape , bearings , nuts and bolt . It is very helpful for construction of any kind of chaff cutter.

Aravind C[2014]This project was made by students of mechanical engineering BNM institute of technology Bangalore ,they made a mini paddy harvester understanding the problems faced by the small scale farmers regarding labours scarcity and wages . Hence they made an economic machine running on 2hp petrol engine which cuts the crop and collect it on one side.

Chinmay Bandiwadekar [2015] this project was made by the students of D.Y.Patil college of engineering ,ambi, They referred the project of human energized chaff cutter and found that the effort required to drive the mechanism can be reduced , hence they made a machine with new cutting mechanism which is safer and less power consuming.

Design of experimentation for establishing Impirical relationship of chaff cutting phenomenon energized by human powered flywheel motor (HPFM) ( P.B. Khope J.P. Modak 2013)

Modak and his associates had developed Human powered process machines, which could energize process units needing 3 to 6 HP. These units had intermittent power requirement. In the present work human powered flywheel motor chaff cutting process has been studied.

Design & develop chaff cutter by using different types of blades (Sanjay Patil, Harshkumar Jain, Raut, Kalikat, Gandhi)

2.3                                          Types of Chaff Cutter

①It is divided into large, medium and small size models according to the size of the machine.

②According to the form of cutter, there are two types, roller type and disc type.

And the size of the drum is large.

The large and medium-sized ones are usually disc type for the convenience of the delivery of silage.

③The method is divided into artificial feeding, semi-automatic feeding and automati