Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit

Efficient harvesting of oil palm fruit is crucial for the industry's sustainability and profitability. Traditional manual harvesting methods have been used for many years, but they are tiring, time-consuming, and physically demanding. To address these issues, this project aims to develop a prot...

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Main Author: Lee, Min Khuan
Format: Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/
http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/1/ME_1901836_MIN_KHUAN_LEE.pdf
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author Lee, Min Khuan
author_facet Lee, Min Khuan
author_sort Lee, Min Khuan
building UTAR Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Efficient harvesting of oil palm fruit is crucial for the industry's sustainability and profitability. Traditional manual harvesting methods have been used for many years, but they are tiring, time-consuming, and physically demanding. To address these issues, this project aims to develop a prototype for harvesting oil palm fronds more efficiently and reduce fatigue experienced by the worker. The developed prototype consists of a sickle with a specialized handle which provide hammering effect that helps to cut the frond and avoid the sickle get stuck problem. It’s also consists of mechanical spring to ensure the smooth cutting process that help to reduce fatigue of the harvester. The prototype was tested for its functionality and feasibility using a digital hanging balance to measure the force required to pull the frond and a stopwatch to record the time taken to cut off a single frond. The results show that the force required to pull the frond ranges from 5.07 kg to 7.01 kg, with an average force of 6.2 kg or 60.83 N. The time taken to cut off a single frond ranges from 4 seconds to 11 seconds, with an average of 7.2 seconds. In short, this project has successfully developed a prototype for harvesting oil palm fronds more efficiently and safely compared to traditional methods. The prototype has been tested for its functionality and feasibility, and the results show its potential for improving the harvesting process. Further field testing and improvements can be made to enhance the prototype's performance and effectiveness.
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format Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis
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institution Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman
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last_indexed 2025-11-15T19:40:03Z
publishDate 2023
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spelling utar-59092023-10-05T16:31:39Z Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit Lee, Min Khuan TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery Efficient harvesting of oil palm fruit is crucial for the industry's sustainability and profitability. Traditional manual harvesting methods have been used for many years, but they are tiring, time-consuming, and physically demanding. To address these issues, this project aims to develop a prototype for harvesting oil palm fronds more efficiently and reduce fatigue experienced by the worker. The developed prototype consists of a sickle with a specialized handle which provide hammering effect that helps to cut the frond and avoid the sickle get stuck problem. It’s also consists of mechanical spring to ensure the smooth cutting process that help to reduce fatigue of the harvester. The prototype was tested for its functionality and feasibility using a digital hanging balance to measure the force required to pull the frond and a stopwatch to record the time taken to cut off a single frond. The results show that the force required to pull the frond ranges from 5.07 kg to 7.01 kg, with an average force of 6.2 kg or 60.83 N. The time taken to cut off a single frond ranges from 4 seconds to 11 seconds, with an average of 7.2 seconds. In short, this project has successfully developed a prototype for harvesting oil palm fronds more efficiently and safely compared to traditional methods. The prototype has been tested for its functionality and feasibility, and the results show its potential for improving the harvesting process. Further field testing and improvements can be made to enhance the prototype's performance and effectiveness. 2023 Final Year Project / Dissertation / Thesis NonPeerReviewed application/pdf http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/1/ME_1901836_MIN_KHUAN_LEE.pdf Lee, Min Khuan (2023) Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit. Final Year Project, UTAR. http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/
spellingShingle TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
Lee, Min Khuan
Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title_full Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title_fullStr Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title_full_unstemmed Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title_short Development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
title_sort development of pole-and-knife springs system for harvesting oil palm fruit
topic TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
url http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/
http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5909/1/ME_1901836_MIN_KHUAN_LEE.pdf