CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Tapioca is familiar crop which cultivated around Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It
was harvested by using hand, it is very difficult to harvest crop so we decide to
make harvesting machine which should be economical. That’s way we make the
harvesting machine which contains of pneumatic cylinder, gripper, fixtures are
used to make this machine very simple mechanism makes this machine to user
friendly and less maintenance. Most of the Indian farmer’s economic condition is
not good, so they not able to buy tractor or large harvesting machines, so this kind
of equipment’s help them to harvest in low investment. It reduces the harvesting
wages of farmers. It's a shrubby, tropical, perennial plant that is less common in the
temperate zone. There is shortage of skilled labor available for agricultural
purpose. Because of this shortage the farmers have transitioned to using
harvestings. Cutting crop manually using labour but this method is very time
lengthy and time consuming. Development of labour saving technology for tapioca
harvesting becomes most critical challenge in tapioca transformation. Earlier
attempts at mechanized harvesting have been affected by constrain such as soil
characteristic, nature, size of tuber depth and both between tuber and soil leading
to high tuber damage and root tuber breakage.

The harvestings are available for purchase but because of their high costs,
they are not affordable. The tapioca roots are very strong and it requires to be
harvested assiduously when using hand. Large scale harvesters have harvesting
attachments attached to the tractor. But it may damage the cassava, so the design is
proposed to make a harvesting machine which will harvest the cassava without any
damage and to make effective equipment available at nominal prices However,

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agriculture groups make these available for rent on an hourly basis. But the small
holding farm owners generally do not require the full-featured combine
harvestings. Thus, there is a need for a smaller and efficient combine harvesting
which would be more accessible and also considerably cheaper. The mission is to
create a portable, user-friendly and low cost mini harvesting machine. The idea
was to create a machine which is cheap and will reduce the labour required to
harvest crops. This machine has the capability and the economic value for fulfilling
the needs of farmers having small land holdings (less than 2 acres). This machine
is cost effective and easy to maintain and repair for the farmer. Tapioca is a
perennial shrub which sometimes reaches the size of small tree. Thus stem vary in
color from plate to dirty white to brown marked by numerous nodes formed scars
left by fallen leaves. India acquires significant in the global tapioca scenario due to
its highest productivity. About 90percent of total tapioca area and production in
India are confined Salem, Namakkal, Erode and Vilupuram district of Tamilnadu.
An average productivity of tapioca is highest in the world.

Tapioca belongs to family euphorbiacae. Tapioca grows and produces best

under warm humid tropical conditions where rainfall is well distributed and fairly
abundant. It can also grow under condition where rainfall is low. Its outstanding
characteristics in terms of moisture requirement is ability to withstand fairly
prolonged periods of drought however at the time of planting there must be
sufficient moisture for plant to establish itself. The crop cannot withstand cold and
is killed by frost.

The crop grows well in well drained lateritt, gravelly and sandy long soil.
Heavy and rocky soil is less suitable, they restrict root development. The crop
cannot survive water logged condition and in such areas, it must be planted on

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mounts or ridges that permit drainage. The crop can also be grown on in slope and
waste land of low fertility.

1.1 Production of Tapioca

The tapioca plant has either red or green branches with blue spindles on
them. The root of the green-branched variant requires treatment to remove
linamarin, a cyanogenic glycoside occurring naturally in the plant, which otherwise
may be converted into cyanide. Konzo is a paralytic disease associated with several
weeks of almost exclusive consumption of insufficiently processed bitter cassava.

In the north and northeast of Brazil, traditional community-based production

of tapioca is a by-product of manioc flour production from tapioca roots. In this
process, the manioc is ground to a pulp with a small hand- or diesel-powered mill.
The top of the tube is secured while a large branch or lever is inserted into a loop at
the bottom and used to stretch the entire implement vertically, squeezing a starch-
rich liquid out through the weave and ends. This liquid is collected and the water
allowing to evaporate, leaving behind a fine-grained tapioca powder similar in
appearance to corn starch.

Roots of tapioca plants are few and swallow and some become storage roots.
These are clustered around the basis of plant and extent about 600mm on all sides.
The crop is cultivated for roots which contain 40 percent starch. A single root may
vary up to 4Kg under variable condition, The number of roots per plant varies from
2-7 with an average length of 300mm and diameter of 60 mm at time of harvesting.

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1.2 Cultivation and Harvesting of Tapioca

Preparation of land before planting, plough the field 2-3 times or dig to a
depth 25-30 cm depending upon soil type to establish a deep porous field in which
the sets are to be planted. Planting material Tapioca is propagated from cuttings.
Select mature healthy stems free from diseases or pests. Discard about 10 cm from
the lower mature and about 30 cm from the upper immature end. Stems should be
cut into sets of 15-20 cm length using a sharp knife. About 2000 stems are required
for planting one hectare.

Harvested stems are to be stored vertically in shaded and well-aerated

places. Spraying dimethoate (0.05%) on the stem will control scale insects. Season
and planting the main planting seasons are April-May with the onset of southwest
monsoon and September-October with the onset of north-east monsoon. Planting
can also be done during February-April, provided sufficient moisture is made
available through irrigation. For maximum tuber production, April-May planting is
preferred because the crop can effectively utilize both the monsoons. The second
best season is September-October. Pit, flat, ridge or mound method of planting can
be adopted depending upon soil type, topography of land and elevation so that
water logging is avoided. Pit followed by mound is found to be the best method of
planting. Plant the cuttings vertically after smoothening the lower cut end, at a
depth not exceeding 4-6 cm. Adopt square method of planting at a spacing of 90 x
90 cm at one cutting per pit. It is preferable to adopt 75 x 75 cm spacing for non-
branching varieties like M-4.

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 Gap filling should be done within 15 days after planting preferably with
longer sets of 40 cm length. Sree Visakha is a choice variety recommended as an
intercrop in coconut gardens. Optimum plant population is 8000 plants per ha with
90 x 90 cm spacing. Seeds and sowing Sweet potato is propagated by means of
vine cuttings. To obtain vine cutting, raise nurseries from selected tubers using the
following method. Eighty kg of medium sized weevil free tubers (each of 125-150
g) are required for planting in the primary nursery area (100 m2 to plant one
hectare). Intercropping in tapioca. Tapioca is planted at a spacing of 90 x 90 cm
and it takes about 3-3.5 months time to have enough canopy to cover the land. So it
is possible to have an intercrop of groundnut during the early stages of tapioca
crop.. Immediately after planting of tapioca, groundnut seeds are sown at a spacing
of 30 cm between rows and 20 cm within rows, so that two rows of groundnut can
be accommodated in between two rows of cassava. A seed rate of 40-50 kg/ha is
recommended for dibbling one seed per hill. Only well-matured and bold seeds are
to be selected for sowing. Once pod formation has started (i.e., 40-45 days after
sowing) the soil should not be disturbed, as it will affect the pod development
adversely. The groundnut crop matures in 105 to 110 days. After the harvest of
pods, the haulms are incorporated in the soil along with a top dressing of 50 kg
each of N and K2O per ha for the main crop. By adopting this practice, 20-25%
additional income can be obtained.

In sandy areas intercropping tapioca with cowpea / groundnut / black gram /

green gram may be recommended giving a spacing of 20 cm on both sides of the
ridges. The non-trailing grain cowpea variety V-26 is recommended as a
companion crop along with tapioca. For a pure crop of tapioca or for a cropping
system involving tapioca as the main crop and the pulse crop suggested above, the
field may be irrigated once in 36 days to a depth of 5 cm. This recommendation is

5
for shallow water table situations. For deep water table situations, the crop may be
irrigated once in 24 days to a depth of 5 cm.

Water management under conditions of well-distributed rainfall, tapioca

grows well as a rain fed crop and irrigation is not necessary. However, the crop has
to be irrigated to provide sufficient moisture under conditions of prolonged dry
periods after planting. When the crop is grown under irrigation, yield increase of
150-200% over the rain fed crop has been observed.

Furrow irrigation with 25 mm water at 100 mm CPE and alternate furrow

irrigation with 50 mm water at 75 mm CPE require only less water and labour for
optimum yield. Approximate irrigation interval schedules will be 27 and 20 days
respectively in summer months. Weed management keep the field free of weeds
and maintain soil loose by 2-3 shallow diggings or hoeing up to 90 days after
planting followed by light earthing up. Retain two shoots on each plant in opposite
directions and remove excess shoots about 30 days after planting. pest
management Red spider mites in the field and scale insects under storage are
important pests of tapioca. Under field conditions light infestation of mites can be
controlled effectively by spraying the crop with water at 10 days interval from the
onset of mite infestation. The stem may be sprayed with 0.05% dimethoate before
storing as a prophylactic measure against the scales. Treating chips with granular
salt (3%), sun drying thoroughly and storing in gunny bags in go down are very
effective against Araecerus fasciculatus and Sitophilus oryzae.

1.2 Benefits of Tapioca

Tapioca is a starchy product made from root of cassava. These tubers are
native Kerala, Karnataka, Brazil and many other countries. Tapioca is available as
flour, meal, flakes, and pearls. Tapioca pearls are commonly used to make tapioca
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pudding and bubble teas. Tapioca is also used as thickener. Tapioca is almost
entirely starchy carbohydrate. Tapioca is high on glycemic index scale. The
glycemic index measures how fast blood sugar level increased after eating.

Free of common allergens, cholesterol free, dietary fiber, easy to digest, and
weight gains are some of the benefits of tapioca. Tapioca is gluten free, nut free
and grain free it won’t cost problem for people with celiac decease, gluten
sensitivity, and nut allergies. Tapioca flour can be found in many gluten free
products, it is a good option for allergen free baking at home. High cholesterol may
build up of plaque in arteries. A cup of tapioca pearl has about 1.5 gram of dietary
fiber. Most people do not consume enough fiber. Fiber offer many health benefits
such as maintaining blood sugar levels and preventing constipation. Tapioca
recommend as source of calories and energy during digestive flares from
conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis. Tapioca helps blood
vessels and muscle contract and dilate, they also help nerves send messages and
help blood clot.

1.3 Nutritional Value of Tapioca

Tapioca predominantly consists of carbohydrates, with each cup contain

23.9gm for a total of 105 calories. It is low in saturated fat, protein and sodium.
Once serving of tapioca pudding contain no dietary fiber, small amount of oleic
acid. Tapioca is almost pure starch almost entirely made up of carbs. Tapioca
doesn’t have many health issues but it is grain and gluten free. It is natural source
of resistance starch. Resistance starch has been linked to a number of benefits for
overall health. It may also lower blood sugar level after means improve glucose
and insulin metabolism and increase fullness.

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1.4 Regional Application of Tapioca

Tapioca pearls are a common ingredient of traditional Indian dishes. Tapioca

is widely consumed across the southern part of India. Mash tapioca is peered with
many curries as a delicacy in Kerala. Mash tapioca with dried salted saline directly
cooked on charcoal and another popular combination. Tapioca can be stored for
longer periods by parboiling and drying it, after slicing and skinning in thick
pieces. In other parts application used for making chips.

1.5 Existing Methods of Harvester

There are different harvesters are available in different parts of world. Some
types of harvesters cannot be used under Indian condition due to large difference in
yield of crop, weight of root and topological conditions. Different unit operation
for tapioca harvester are loosening the roots and pulling up the plant, removing soil
and separating the root collecting the root and loading roots for transport.
Traditional practice of tapioca harvesting includes loosening soil using crowbar, if
the soil is compact. The plant is pulled up gently without dragging the roots. The
dragging can cause bruises and cuts to roots which may lead to early deterioration.
Tapioca harvest is tedious work and requires 40 men per day. The sale price of
tapioca is determined by its starch content. The farmers contract entire harvesting,
transport and sales to middleman and this lead to low price for farmers.

1.6 Modified Method of Harvesters

Engineers at home and abroad have made many attempts toward the
development of tapioca uprooting devices. These include manual devices such as
plough and grippers with different structural configurations. Further work machine
lead to the development of single row harvester with two gangs of reciprocating
power take off. Tapioca root can be used to manufacture biodegradable bags and
8
tapioca resins product includes re useable gloves and apron. A gripper is a device
which enables the holding of an object to be manipulated. The easier way to
describe a gripper is to think of the human hand. Just like a hand, a gripper enables
holding, tightening, handling and releasing of an object. A gripper is just one
component of an automated system. A gripper can be attached to a robot or it can
be part of a fixed automation system. Many styles and sizes of grippers exist so
that the correct model can be selected for the application. Compressed air is
supplied to the cylinder of the gripper body forcing the piston up and down, which
through a mechanical linkage, forces the gripper jaws open and closed. There are 3
primary motions of the gripper jaws; parallel, angular and toggle. These operating
principals refer to the motion of the gripper jaws in relation to the gripper body.
This gripper make the uplifting easier compared to other mechanism. . People find
difficult buying modern harvester due to its cost, to overcome this problems we
have used this mechanism for up lifting.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

[1] Akinbamowo R.O (Journal of agriculture and allied science, Volume-2,

issue2, April-2013) The rate of harvesting of dug tapioca was determined with
machine running on test field and designated PTO rotation with other selected
operational and implement parameters (forwards speed and rake angle) for each
row as plot layout, harvested tapioca are collected sown after harvesting, dug
losses were determined by digging up tapioca and lift in soil per plot and machine
has passed and surface produce collected labeled bugged and weighted.
[2]Asetifa B.O, Lawal N.S, Samuel T (Development on manually operated
tapioca harvester using hydraulic medium). The aim of study is to design and
fabricate low cost, light manually operated hydraulic tapioca harvester which
would produce minimal disturbance to soil when harvesting. This study seek to
eliminate high effort requirement in tapioca harvesting through use of hydraulic
ram and plunger which will replace human arm lifting operation.There by
pneumatic working will be more easier compared to hydraulic and it is appropriate
to do the harvesting process.
[3] Fernando Macias Lopez, Luciano Eliezer Ramirez Vidaurri (Journel on
effect of depth on weld ability of feritic steel in simulated environment, volume -
32,2018) The welds were performed by underwater welder, cross-sectional
properties – using chapter –V-notch toughness tests were determined by
correlation. The mechanical property of mild steel and cast iron before and after
welding was seen stresses of mild steel and cast iron bar decreased after welding
for any cross section due to heat treatment of metal. The strength of specimen
decreased but hardness increased thus the property of specimen can be changed
due to welding
10
 [4] H.J. Warnecke & I. Schimidt (International Journals of Production
Research, Volume 18, Issue 5 1980) Gripper system are applied in small batches
production. Moulding grippers were developed that use sensors and position
drives. Automatic modeling jaws that are fixed on various grippers mould them to
develop universal gripper. Moulding grippers were developed that uses sensors and
positioning drives. Gripper provide more strength and is often used for application
that require significant amount of force.
[5] Igor L. Krivts (Journal of mechanical design, Volume126,july2004) The
air cylinder design eliminate leakage and blow by of compressed air almost
completely, reduces dry friction force by an order of magnitude, nor does it require
vaporization of oil in compressed air. The supply pressure 0.6Mpa, move mass of
10Kg and control signal valve. Pneumatic cylinder can provide much better
accurate performance.

[6]K.V.Hariharan, S.P.Pradepkumar, M.Prasanth(International journal of

innovative research in science, volume 4, special issue 6, May 2015) Manual
tapioca root tuber peeling rate of about 21.8kg/h, Ezekwe et design spring load
tapioca peeling machine with 5 spring load point equal spaced at 140mm interval
and length of knife assembly with spring 2.193 N/mm. Tapioca is in various sizes
and avaraage height stem to suit various tuber sizes, this result obtained is15%
broken tuber with peeling efficiency 98.8%. The rate of loading root diameter were
found to have significant effect on breaking strength, deformation of root, breakup
energy.

[7]Lawal N.S, M.Akinbamowo(Journal of innovative research, Volume5,

issue 6, july2015) Planting is majorly being carried out manually mechanical
planters available in fully developed to level for them to be taken up by fabricators

11
for commercialization, the implementation of automatic and improved cultural
practice of tapioca enhance for reduction of labour and time.

[8] L. Satheeshkumar et al., (2002) The author Contribute that, the effect of
weld quality is mainly depends on tool rotational speed and transverse speed.
When the tool rotational speed is increases the heat input also increased the heat
input also increased. Experimentally found that the 35 mm/min transverse feed
gives excellent mechanical property both tensile and hardness.

[9] Mengyao Huang, Zongyishen (Journal of polymer Research volume 4

issue 8, august 2001) The effect of additional thermoplastic co-poly on blend
composed of difunctional resin, unimolecule diglycidyl ether of bisphenol and
anhydride are present in the component. The fracture toughness of these system
was equally two or slightly higher than un modified resin. The introduction of
PPEN maintains heat resistance of apoxy resin while improving its toughness
which is beneficial to thermo mechanical properties.

[10] O.I Sekunowo,S.O Adesum and O.E ojo(International journal of

engineering and technology volume 4,may 2014 ) tensile strength characteristics
demonstrated by mild steel specimen after tempering, tensile behaviour steel
austenised at 800 degree compared with 558.3 Mpa of other material. Emerging
trending specimen’s behaviour shows strength increase concomitantly with
tempering temperature. Impact properties imperatives because fasteners are
required to exhibit adequate resistance to dynamic loading, susceptivity to brittle
failure during installation.

[11] Shadrack Kwadwo Amponsah, J. Thajudhin Sheriff , Gangadharan

Byju(1. CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Kumasi, Ghana; 2. ICAR- Central Tuber
Crops Research Institute, Sreekariyam, India) The study sought to investigate the

12
effect of cassava agronom parameters on uprooting force requirement. field study
was carried out at the central tuber crops research institute (CTCRI).
[12] Shadwack kwadwo, Amponash and byju gongadharan(Review of
various harvesting option for tapioca) Various mechanized harvesting option have
been developed for use in different part of world to overcome challenges. Earlier
attempts at mechanizing tapioca scale of cultivation. Development of labour saving
technology for tapioca harvesting becomes most critical challenge in tapioca
transformation. Earlier attempts at mechanized harvesting have been affected by
constrain such as soil characteristic, nature, size of tuber depth and both between
tuber and soil leading to high tuber damage and root tuber breakage There by
usage of pneumatic cylinder and gripper in machine the chance of getting damage
to tapioca get reduced.

13
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

Problem Identification

Material Selection

Designing of Harvester

Fabrication of Model

Implementation

14
3.1 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
 It was very difficult to remove the soil and pull out tapioca
 More human labour is required for harvesting
 There is shortage of skilled labour available agricultural purpose
 Shortage of farmers has transitioned to using harvesting crop
manually using labour but this method is very time consuming.
 There is chance of breaking of tapioca while pulling out from soil.
 Harvesting of tapioca manually requires more effort.
3.2 MATERIAL SELECTION
Table.3.2 Material Selection

S.NO COMPONENTS MATERIALS

1 Frame MS
2 Pneumatic Cylinder Aluminum
3 Gripper MS
4 Bearing Steel
5 Wheel Polymer

3.2.1 Mild Steel

Mild steel is type of carbon steel with low amount of carbon, it is also
known as “low carbon steel” although ranges vary depending on source, the
amount of carbon typically found in mild steel is 0.05% to 0.25% by weight. Mild
steel is not an alloy steel and therefore does not contain large amount of other
elements beside iron. Mild steel has ferromagnetic properties and can be machined
and shaped easily due to its inherent flexibility. Mild steel is hard at malleable,
making it the ideal choice for fabrication of gripper and frame.

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3.2.2 Aluminum

Aluminum is a chemical element with symbol AI and atomic number 13. It is

silvery white, soft, Non magnetic and ductile metal in the boron group. By
mass, aluminum makes up about 8% of the earth’s crust. Aluminum ore is
called bauxite. Hard coated aluminum tubing has extreme hardness, excellent
wear and seizure resistance, low coefficient of friction and high corrosion in
resistance aluminum body is twice as thick when compared to stainless or brass
cylinder.

3.2.3 Steel

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon and sometimes other elements. Iron is
base metal of steel. Iron is able to take on two crystalline forms depending on its
temperature. The steel structure has relatively low resistance. The increase in
steel strength compared to pure iron is possible only by reducing irons ductility.
steel is an iron carbon alloy that does not undergo eutectic reaction. Because of
its high tensile strength and low cost, it is a major component used in making
frame of our harvester.
3.2.4 Polymer
Polymer is a large molecule or macro molecule composed of many
repeated sub units due to their broad range of properties they play an essential
road in everyday life. Polymer ranges from familiar synthetic plastic to bio
polymers. Polymer and resins are often synonym with plastic. The structure of
polymer is composed of multiple repeating units. The tensile strengths of
material quantifies how much along a stress material will endure before failure.
This is very important in applications that relay upon polymers relay strength or
durability. Due to its high relay strength and durability it is used to manufacture
wheel of our tapioca harvesting machine.