DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF AUTOMATIC SEED

SOWING MACHINE
A MINI PROJECT REPORT
Submitted by

D.JEEVANANDHAM AC15UME067
A.T.MAGESH KUMAR AC15UME090
S.MANIKANDAN AC15UME094
R.POOVARASAN AC15UME122

In a partial fulfilment for the award of the degree

Of

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING
In

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING
ADHIYAMAAN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING (Autonomous)
(Accredited by NBA-AICTE New Delhi,
Accredited by NAAC-UGC New Delhi with ‘B+’ grade)
HOSUR-635109

ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600025

OCTOBER 2018
 ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025
BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this mini project report “DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF

AUTOMATIC SEED SOWING MACHINE” is the bonafide work of
“JEEVANANTHAM D, MAGESH KUMAR A T, MANIKANDAN S, and
POOVARASAN R.” of final year (seventh semester)who carried out the mini
project work under my supervision.

SIGNATURE
Dr.CHANNANKAIAH, M.E.,Ph.D.,
PROFESSOR AND HEAD,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Adhiyamaan college of Engineering,
(Autonomous) Hosur – 635109
SIGNATURE
Mr.D.THAMODHARAN, M.E.,
SUPERVISOR,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Adhiyamaan college of Engineering,
(Autonomous) Hosur – 635109

Submitted for Viva Voce Examination held on ……………….. at Adhiyamaan

College of Engineering (Autonomous), Hosur.

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

i
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The success of any project depends largely on the people associated with
it. We are indebted to everyone who has made valuable contribution towards the
success of this mini project. We would take this opportunity to acknowledge the
enthusiasm of all these personalities.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to our beloved Principal

Dr.G.RANGANATH, M.E., Ph.D., for his keen interest and affection towards
us.

We are highly indebted to Dr.CHANNANKAIAH M.E., Ph.D. Head of

the Department, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adhiyamaan college of
Engineering, for permitting and encouraging us to do our mini project work.

We are also grateful to our guide Mr.D.THAMOTHARAN, M.E.,

Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adhiyamaan
College of Engineering, for his valuable guidance for our mini project and
successfully completed.

We would also extend our thanks to other concerned staffs of Mechanical

Engineering Department for their co-operation and help in carrying out this mini
project effectively.

And last but not the least, we express our deep gratitude to our parents and
to our friends for their encouragement and support.

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT v
LIST OF TABLES vi
LIST OF FIGURES vii
LIST OF SYMBOLS viii
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.2 OBJECTIVE 2
2 LITERATURE SURVEY 3
2.1 COMPONENTS AND 3
DESCRIPTION
2.1.1 STRUCTURAL FRAME 3

2.1.2 CHAIN DRIVE 3

2.1.3 WHEELS 7

2.1.4 CULTIVATOR 8

2.1.5 SEED DISTRIBUTOR 8

2.1.6 SEED FLOW PIPE 9

2.1.7 SEED HOOPER 9

2.1.8 SAND COVER 9

2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 10

iii
CHAPTER NO. TITLE PAGE NO.
3 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 11

3.1 WORKING PRINCIPLE 12

3.2 DESIGN CALCULATION 12

3.3 FABRICATION 14

3.3.1 METAL CUTTING 14

3.3.2 FORGING 15

3.3.3 WELDING 16

3.3.4 GRINDING 17
3.4 ADVANTAGES 18
3.5 DISADVANTAGES 18

3.6 APPLICATIONS 18

3.7 COST ESTIMATION 19

4 CONCLUSION 20

REFERENCES 21

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MODEL 22

iv
 ABSTRACT

India is an agricultural country cultivating more number of crops in the

village sides of the country. Cultivating crop is of a global importance. An attempt
has been made for the design and fabrication of automatic seed sowing machine
exclusively for small farmers at low cost. The machine is made versatile such that
very simple components are employed in the fabrication and this is the reason for
the low cost of the machine. The main objective of our project is to carry out the
operation of seed sowing. The different components of this automatic portable
seeding machine are designed through the AutoCAD software. The modelled
components are fabricated and assembled together to form a complete machine.

v
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

3.1 COST ESTIMATION 19

vi
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

2.1 Automatic Seed Sowing Machine 3

2.2 Roller Chain 4

2.3 Detachable Chain 5

2.4 Pintle Chain 5

2.5 Silent Chain 6

2.6 Leaf Chain 6

2.7 Laminated Chain 7

2.8 Wheel 7

2.9 Cultivator 8

2.10 Seed Distributor Disc 8

2.11 Seed Flow Pipe 9

2.12 Seed Hopper 9

3.1 Metal cutting 15

3.2 Forming machine 16

3.3 Welding 17

3.4 Grinding machine 18

vii
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

SYMBOLS DESCRIPTION UNIT

V Voltage volt

I Current amp

P Power watt

T Torque N-m

F Force N

viii
 CHAPTER 1
1.1 INTRODUCTION

In current world, every process is getting automated and people are

getting used to adopt smart techniques to get their work done. It can be seen that
with flow of time, how seed sowing techniques and equipment’s have kept on
progressing. Proper seed sowing is very important part of agricultural process and
for the same purpose automatic seed sowing machine have been designed and
developed. Despite agriculture being one of the most important fields for
determining the growth of a country, it is lagging in terms of smart working. One
of the biggest irony is agriculture being the main occupation in many countries
still it lags in using the smart techniques in this field. If technology is introduced
in farming techniques there are chances that ever growing populating in the
coming future might be fed adequately. To suffice such a large amount,
agricultural yield must also be increased rapidly. Due to poor seed quality &
inefficient farming practices, and lack of cold storage and harvest spoilage, nearly
30% of the farmer’s produce is wasted. Not in just theory practically we can see
how automation helps in increasing output of farming, in US, where automation
techniques in agricultural farming has already been implemented the cereal yield
is nearly 6600 Kg/Hectare which is three times more than in India whose cereal
yield is just 2600 Kg/Hectare approximately.
Cropping is important and tedious activity for any farmer, and for large
scale this activity is so lengthy also it needs more workers. Thus agriculture
machines were developed to simplify the human efforts. In manual method of
seed planting, we get results such as low seed placement, less spacing efficiencies
and serious back ache for the farmer. This also limited the size of field that can
be planted. Hence for achieving best performance from a seed planter, the above
limits should be optimized.

1
 Thus we need to make proper design of the agriculture machine and also
selection of the components is also required on the machine to suit the needs of
crops.

The agriculture is the backbone of India. And for sustainable growth of

India development of agriculture plays vital role. The India has huge population
and day by day it is growing thus demand of food is also increasing. In agriculture
we saw various machines. Also there traditional methods are there. Since long
ago in India traditional method is used. Also India has huge man power. This
manual planting is popular in villages of India but for large scale this method is
very troublesome. The farmer has to spend his more time in planting.

The Automatic seed sowing machine are developed. In this proposed work
they have focused on seed sowing process. In this seed sowing process to avoid
the drawbacks the seed sowing machine is developed which has very less cost.
Also the unskilled farmer can be easily operated automatic seed sowing system.

1.2 OBJECTIVES

To design and fabricate the automatic seed sowing machine.

2
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1 COMPONENTS AND DESCRIPTION

The automatic seed sowing machine is constructed by using the

components described below.

2.1.1 STRUCTURAL FRAME:

The structural frame or simply the Chassis is main component of the machine.
All the important components of the seed sowing machine is fixed over the
structural main frame.

Fig 2.1 AUTOMATIC SEE SOWING MACHINE

2.1.2 CHAIN DRIVE:
Chain drive is a way of transmitting mechanical power from one place to another.
It is often used to convey power to the wheel of the vehicle. It is also used in wide
variety of machines besides vehicles.
There are many types of chain drives; they may be classified as below,

3
ROLLER CHAIN
A standard roller chain is made up of alternate roller links. Roller links consists
of two sidebars, two bushing, and two rollers. Pin links have two sidebars and
two pins, which are normally riveted. It is manufactured with all the rollers evenly
spaced throughout the chain. The rollers have the ability to rotate when contacting
the teeth of the sprocket.
The roller chain is divided into another 6 types
1) Standard roller chain
2) Heavy series roller chain
3) Multi-strand roller chain
4) Self-lubricated roller chain
5) Pre-lubricated roller chain
6) Double pitch roller chain

Fig 2.2 Roller Chain

4
DETACHABLE CHAIN
Detachable chains are designed for low speed and light load power
transmission drives. This chain consists of identical links, which are easily
detachable from one another. Each link has a hook-shaped end in which the bar
of the adjacent link articulates. The detachable chain is designed for one way
drives where a steady pull is applied on the load side and some tension on the
return side is maintained to keep the slack from bucking. Normally this chain
bends only one way. The chain is assembled and disassembled by pulling up the
slack and flexing the links, then sliding a link sideway.

Fig 2.3 Detachable Chain

PINTLE CHAIN
The pintle chain is used as a chain for higher speed and heavier loads than
detachable chain is capable of transmitting. The pintle chain is made up of
individual casting links having a full round barrel end cast integral with offset
side bars. These links are interconnected with steel pins, which are usually riveted
over at both ends.

Fig 2.4 Pintle Chain

5
SILENT CHAIN
The term silent chain is adopted to describe the inverted tooth link type of chain
that is commonly used for high speeds. The silent chain consists of toothed link-
plates assembled on pin connectors, permitting smooth joint articulation.

Fig 2.5 Silent Chain

LEAF CHAIN
Leaf chain is used applications requiring a strong, flexible linkage for
transmitting reciprocating motion, or lift, a rather than rotative power. Leaf chain
is used on applications such as
 Overhead hoists
 Hydraulic lift trucks
 Counter-weights that require tension linkage
Leaf chains are built of interlaced plates held together by rivet pins. The plates
are heat-treated for toughness and the pins are case hardened to combine a wear-
resistant bearing surface with a strong resilient core.

Fig 2.6 Leaf Chain

6
LAMINATED METAL CHAIN
A laminated metal chain consists of thin strips of resilient metal that extend
on each side of the link and conform to the ribbed side of a sheave face. This
action produces a positive link engagement for variable speed drive units.
Its appearance is similar to that of a timing chain, except sheave engagement is
made by the thin metal strips sliding and conforming to the grooves rather than
an actual tooth/sprocket engagement of typical roller or silent chain.

Fig 2.7 Laminated Metal Chain

2.1.3 WHEELS
The wheel is the circular block of the metal strip which is hard and durable. Its
centre has been bored a circular hole through which is placed an axle about which
the wheel rotates when a moment is applied by gravity or torque to the wheel
about its axis.

Fig 2.8 Wheel

7
2.1.4 CULTIVATOR
A cultivator is a farm implement used for secondary tillage. One sense the name
refers to frame with shanks or simply teeth that pierce the soil as they are dragged
through it linearly. Another sense refers to machines that use rotary motion of
disks or teeth to accomplish a similar result. The rotary tiller is a principle,
example. Cultivators stir and pulverize the soil, either before planting or after the
crop has begun growing. Cultivators of the toothed type are often similar form to
chisel plows, but their goals are different.

Fig 2.9 Cultivator

2.1.5 SEED DISTRIBUTOR DISC
Seed distributor is a circular disc consists of a series of buckets attached at a
particular angle to each buckets. In general there would be 8 buckets placed at
45° to each other. The bucket has the capacity to lift either 1 or 2 seeds at a time,
but not more than that.

Fig 2.10 Seed Distributor

8
2.1.6 SEED FLOW PIPE
The seed flow pipe is a circular pipe fixed below the frame of the machine. In
general the inner diameter of the pipe is a little greater to the seed diameter with
the clearance given to the diameter. It is fixed at a specific angle to easy flow of
seed also for giving some time for another seed to dispense.

Fig 2.11 Seed Flow Pipe

2.1.7 SEED HOPPER
The seed hopper is a storage tank, which is used to store the seeds. It is designed
to easily dispense the seeds through the use of gravitational force.

Fig 2.12 Seed Hopper

2.1.8 SAND COVER
The sand cover is used to cover the sand over the seed which was ploughed
earlier. The sand cover is attached at the end of the machine which is of semi-
circular metal disc.

9
 2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW
[1] KANNAN A. and et al. (JAN 2014)
This research paper presents design modification in multipurpose sowing
machine. In this they present that for sowing purpose we import the machinery
which are bulk in size having more cost. To prevent this they design multipurpose
sowing machine which consists of hopper, seed metering mechanism, ground
wheel, power transmission system, seed distributor, and tiller.

[2] Kyada A.R. and et al. (DEC 2014)

This research paper presents design and development of manually operated seed
planter machine. In this they present objective of seed planter machine design,
factors affecting seed emergence, some mechanisms.

[3] Rohokale A et al. (2004):

Agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a
significant role in the overall economy of India. For the growth of Indian
economy, mechanization is necessary.

[4] Shriprasad B et al. (2010):

This research paper presents information about modern globalization; many
technologies are to update a new development based on automation which works
very rigidly, high effectively and within short time period.

10
 CHAPTER 3
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Growing the crop means ploughing the field and sowing the seeds into it.
Three steps are mainly taken to sow the seed; spreading the seeds over the soil,
separate germination of seeds, and sowing the seeds into the soil. The two latter
processes take more time and labour to complete the work. It being the area of
concern needs to be looked upon. Hence, an idea to implement the automation in
the process of seed sowing raised. Therefore, the aim was to design and develop
a less expensive, distinct attachment to the machine so that it can be used in an
easy way. For the fabrication, components were decided based on the material,
factor of safety and the calculations were done to find out the speed of the
machine at various output of the motor to be used to match the requirements. The
design parts were modelled using solid works software and the assembly was
done to finalize the best position of the components. At the manufacturing end,
the chassis was fabricated to form the skeleton for the hardware. The belt and
pulley drive was installed with the wiper motor for proper functioning of the
prototype. For better transmission, the angle of contact of belt and pulley is kept
near 180 degrees. The automation part was done after the fabrication was
completed. The code was generated and the connections were made and testing
performed successfully for the finally manufactured prototype.
3.1 WORKING PRINCIPLE
The main objective of this project is to thresh the seeds, cultivate the land,
sow the seeds. These are the aims of our project and they are done in a single
operation. A motor is used to run the thresher setup which contains blades so that
when the seed is fed manually, the motor operates the blades and the ground nut
seeds are threshed within few minutes and the motor is powered up by a battery.
The pulley and the belt drive are connected to the wheels and the seed sowing
setup with the help of a shaft. Also a seed feeder is provided inside a hopper setup
such that they feed the seeds to the planting hose.

11
 In front of the setup, a cultivator arrangement is made in such a way that
they can be loosened and taken off the ground and can be tightened by using a
lead screw arrangement. Just behind the delivery end of the hose, a flat plate is
provided so that the seeds are planted and the ground is made flat.

3.2 DESIGN CALCULATIONS

TORQUE CALCULATIONS:
Voltage (v) = 12V DC motor
Maximum speed (N1) = 90 rpm
Current (I) = 1.8amp
Power (P) = VxI
P=12x1.8 = 21.6w
2𝜋𝑛𝑇
P=
60

Torque(T) = 5.89N-m

FORCE REQUIRED:
𝑇
Force (F) =
𝑅

T=Torque produced
R= Radius of sprocket

5.89x1000
F=
40

F=147.25N
CALCULATION OF CHAIN DRIVE:
TRANSMISSION RATIO (i):
𝐍𝟏
i=
𝐍2

N1=Speed of the pinion = 90 rpm

12
N2=Speed of the wheel = 40 rpm
i = 2.25

TO FIND Z1& Z2:

From PSG Design Data Book Page no: 7.74
The Number of teeth of the sprocket wheel is assumed to be
No of teeth in sprocket pinion
Z1 =14 teeth
No of teeth in sprocket wheel
Z2 = i*Z1 =32 teeth.
DIAMETERS OF CHAIN SPROCKETS:
Diameter of small sprocket
𝐩
da1 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎 = 60 mm
sin( )
𝐳1

Diameter of large sprocket

𝐩
da2 = 𝟏𝟖𝟎 = 130 mm
sin( )
𝐳2

OPTIMUM CENTRE DISTANCE:

a = (30 to 50)p
a = Optimum centre distance
p = Pitch=12.7
(From PSG Data Book Pg.no: 7.74)
a = 30x12.7
a = 380 mm
LENGTH OF CHAIN DRIVE (l):
l = lp*p
(𝑍2 −𝑍1 ) 2
𝑍1 +𝑍2 ( 2𝜋 )
lp = 2ap+ + .
2 𝑎𝑝

13
 𝑎0
ap =
𝑝

Assume,
ao = 380 mm (a= ao)
ap = 30 mm
lp = 85 mm
l= 1060 mm
FINAL CENTRE DISTANCE:
𝑒+√𝑒 2 −8𝑚
a=
4
𝑍1 +𝑍2
e =lp-
2

𝑍2 −𝑍1 2
m =(
2𝜋
)

e =100-38.5= 61.5 mm
m =8.21 mm (From PSG Design Data Book Pg.no: 7.76)
a =381 mm

3.3 FABRICATION
Fabrication is the building of metal structures by cutting, forging, welding and
assembling processes.

A fabrication job, usually based on the engineering drawing, and if aware the
contract will build the product. Fabrication shops and machine shops have
overlapping capabilities, but fabrication shops generally concentrate on metal
preparation.

3.3.1 METAL CUTTING

Metal cutting or machining is the process of by removing unwanted

material from a block of metal in the form of chips.

14
 Cutting processes work by causing fracture of the material that is
processed. Usually, the portion that is fractured away is in small sized pieces,
called chips. Common cutting processes include sawing, shaping (or planning),
broaching, drilling, grinding, turning and milling. Although the actual machines,
tools and processes for cutting look very different from each other, the basic
mechanism for causing the fracture can be understood by just a simple model
called for orthogonal cutting.

Fig 3.1 Metal Cutting

3.3.2 FORGING

Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using

localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer or a die.
Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it is performed:
cold forging and hot forging. For the latter two, the metal is heated, usually in
a forge. Forged parts can range in weight from less than a kilogram to hundreds
of metric tons. Forging has been done by smiths for millennia; the traditional
products were kitchenware, hardware, hand tools, edged weapons, cymbals,
and jewellery. Since the Industrial Revolution, forged parts are widely used
in mechanisms and machines wherever a component requires high strength;

15
such forgings usually require further processing achieve a finished part. Today,
forging is a major worldwide industry.

Fig 3.2 Forging

3.3.3 WELDING

Welding is a process for joining similar metals. Welding joins metals by melting
and fusing 1, the base metals being joined and 2, the filler metal applied. Welding
employs pinpointed, localized heat input. Most welding involves ferrous-based
metals such as steel and stainless steel. Weld joints are usually stronger than or
as strong as the base metals being joined.

16
 Fig 3.3 Welding

Welding is used for making permanent joints. It is used in the manufacture of

automobile bodies, aircraft frames, railway wagons, machine frames, structural
works, tanks, furniture, boilers, general repair work and ship building.

3.3.4 GRINDING

Grinding is an abrasive machining process that uses a grinding wheel as

the cutting tool.

A wide variety of machines are used for grinding:

 Hand-cranked knife-sharpening stones (grindstones)

 Handheld power tools such as angle grinders and die grinders
 Various kinds of expensive industrial machine tools called grinding machines
 Bench grinders

Grinding practice is a large and diverse area of manufacturing and tool making.
It can produce very fine finishes and very accurate dimensions; yet in mass
production contexts it can also rough out large volumes of metal quite rapidly. It
is usually better suited to the machining of very hard materials than is "regular"
machining, and until recent decades it was the only practical way to machine such
materials as hardened steels.

17
 Fig 3.4 Grinding

3.4 ADVANTAGES

 Simple in construction.
 Maintenance cost is low.
 The cost of the system is less.
 Small in size, hence portable.
 Time taken for planting operation is less.
 No need of skilled operators for operating the machine.

3.5 DISADVANTAGES

 Must be handles carefully because of more number of moving parts.

 Suitable only for planting small sized seeds.
3.6 APPLICATIONS

 Mainly used in agricultural purposes,

 Highly suitable for planting groundnuts, corns, etc.

18
 3.7 COST ESTIMATION
Sl.No DESCRIPTION COST(RS)

1 CHAIN 400

2 SPROCKET 160

3 BEARING 200

4 FRAME 330

5 SHAFT 100

6 DISC 150

7 MOTOR 1500

8 SEED BUCKET 150

9 WELDING 700

TOTAL COST 3690

Table 3.1 Cost Estimation

19
 CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION

The design and fabrication automatic seed sowing machine is fabricated

with satisfactory conditions. Agriculture purposes can be carried out
simultaneously with the help this machine. In future this work can be remoulded
and designed to carry out multi-functional operation. Hence it is easily affordable
by the farmers.

20
 REFERENCES

[1] A.Kannan, K. Esakkiraja, S. Thimmarayan, JAN 2014 “Design and

Modification Of Multipurpose Sowing Machine” VOL: 2,ISSN (ONLINE):
2321-3051.

[2] A. R. Kyada& D. B Patel, DEC 2014 “Design and Development of

Automatically Operated Seed Planter Machine” of Lecture 5th International &
26th All India Manufacturing Technology, Design and Research Conference
(AIMTDR 2014), IIT Guwahati, Assam, India. Vol 2.

[3]Manjesh.M and Manjunatha.K, Solar Powered Digging and Seed Sowing

Machine, International Journal for Research in Applied Science & Engineering
Technology,5(3),2017,446-450

[4]Swetha S. and Shreeharsha G.H.Solar operated Automatic Seed Sowing,

International journal of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and Technology
4(1),2015, 67-71

21
PHOTOGRAPH OF THE MODEL

22