FABRICATION OF SEED BALL ROLLING

MACHINE

P.V.Arunraj1, H.Mohammed Ali2, G.S.Praveen3, D.Vignesh4, V.S.Vijay

Mohan5 and R.V.Mukil6
1,2
Assistant Professor, 3,4,5,6 Students
SRM Institute of science and Technology, Ramapuram Campus, Chennai600089
Email: arunrajv@srmist.edu.in

ABSTRACT – The primary source of food is agriculture. Additionally, this industry

contributes to the country’s economic stability and creates jobs. It is important to maintain a
steady supply of food as the population grows. In order to do this, agricultural activities might
be mechanized. Making and planting seed balls is one way to quickly and cheaply restore the
earth’s lost green cover for ecological restoration. However, manual seed ball manufacture and
distribution are more time demanding and more expensive. Because of this, the goal is to
develop a machine that can produce vast amounts of seed balls quickly and easily.

Keywords: seed, sowing, planting, agriculture

Introduction

It’s a pre-planted seed in a little spherical lump of earth components, mostly clay and compost
with other essential nutrients, then dried. The seed-ball is a small soil pocket which includes
the seed and all other required components for the seed’s life in the same pocket. With enough
time and conditions, this allows the seed to germinate and then grow. Each seed is pre-planted
and is normally seeded by dropping the seed ball anyplace the plant species is acceptable. This
protects the seed from birds and other predators until germination. They give a vast window of
time throughout the sowing phase, making them a simple and sustainable technique of plant
growth. An easy-to-transport and-plant seed ball Seed balls or seed bombs are seeds dried in
soil. The soil is usually a combination of clay and compost. The seed is therefore pre-planted
and may be placed anyplace the species can thrive. The wrapping substance protects the seed
until it germinates. Seed balls are one of the simplest and most sustainable methods to grow
plants and extend the period between planting and harvesting. Seed balls are ideal for guerilla
gardeners and individuals with aching backs. With seed balls, you may grow plants and trees
from seeds without disturbing the earth with a plough. A Japanese farmer rediscovered and
marketed seed balls. Research backgrounds
Aerial reforestation dates back to the 1930s. Due to inadequate seed dispersion, these
studies were mainly unsuccessful, since seeds failed to generate enough kinetic energy to
penetrate the soil and were grossly predated. This led to a rodent epidemic in Hawaii. Lynn
Garrison suggested in 1987 a Haitian Aerial Reforestation Project (HARP) that would use
adapted aero planes to distribute tones of seed. The seeds would be encased in a sorbent. This
 covering would contain fertilizer, pesticide, and maybe vegetable seeds. Haiti has a bimodal
rainy season, with precipitation in spring and autumn. Maybe they were wet days before the
drop to initiate germination. The plan fizzled. In 2016, seed balls were utilized in aerial sowing
in Kenya to boost yields. Using seed balls instead of seeds for aerial regeneration in Kenya
appears to be working well. In the late 1990s, saplings were expected to replace seeds. They
would be enclosed in biodegradable canisters that would act as missiles, piercing the earth at
tremendous speeds. This would certainly outperform basic aerial seeding or even seed
bombardment in terms of yield. Aerial Re- forestation Inc. of Newton, Massachusetts,
launched this initiative in 1999, based on a pilot’s suggestion. The business planned to utilize a
C-130
Military cargo plane to deploy explosives on battlefields. In 2019, the firm seems to be
closed. Other researchers are still working on optimizing the aerodynamics of these "aerial
sapling darts" to increase soil penetration and thereby reforestation yields. More study is
required to compare them to other reforestation techniques. Drone Seed, a new firm in 2019,
just attempted seed bombing. They claim to have developed a patented seed bomb that may
keep animals from eating the seeds while also increasing the planting output. Given this
company’s concentration on disaster assistance, sapling darts were deemed ineffective since
"nursery suppliers lack capability to reforest after large wildfires — particularly recurring
fires."
Existing Methods
• BY HAND: Rolling each balls and other ingredients by hand and its formed into several
shapes and size of the balls may differ and proper seed and sand is not rolled while doing in
hands

FIGURE 1. Hand method

BY USING FLAT TRAY: Combining all dry ingredients in a tray and thoroughly mixing. By
shaking front and back and bottom of tray is fixed so the forming balls can roll around and
formed into seed balls.
 FIGURE 2. Flat tray method
Problem statement

Rolling each balls and other ingredients by hand has been a major limitation in the production
of seed balls. Further, using hands for producing seed balls results into several shapes and size
of the balls may differ, seed and sand is not rolled properly. Moreover it is time consuming.
The primary aim of this project is to provide a speedy solution to get accurate shaped and
sized seed balls without consuming too much time. To overcome this limitation, this project
uses motor with rolling drum along with shaft and pulley to get a machine in place of hand to
do the job quickly and accurately.
Proposed methodology

This machine is relatively cheap. This seed ball machine is so easy to use that even a novice
farmer can use it. We reduced the cost and made it accessible to all rural farmers. To make this
design, we used the motor’s belt drive to spin the drum, which contained the seed, for 10-15
minutes.
List of Components

Following image displays the whole drawing of the sowing machine. Both physical and
functional needs are addressed while constructing the mechanism. So the machine can place
the seeds properly. These are the main components of this machine.
1. Main body
2. Spindle shaft or main shaft
3. ‘V’ rope pulley
4. Motor
5. Large pulley
6. Rolling drum
Main Body: This is made of MILD STEEL material. Top bars and Bottom bars are
connected by the four bars by welding. The bearing open bores are done in one setting to align
the bearings properly
 Figure 3. Design of Frame

Spindle shaft or main shaft: Spindle is made of E N steel. It's machined to the drawing. The belt
pulley is machined into one end, while the other threads the wheel onto the spindle. The bearing
is machined into the middle. The main body holds the spindle with bearings. During the
operation, the belt pulley will revolve this spindle. To prevent run out, the whole spindle is
rotated. ‘V’ rope pulley: A basic single ‘A groove manufactured of MILD STEEL. The motor
rotates the spindle through a pulley and ‘V' rope. This pulley's diameter runs the spindle rpm.

Figure 4. Spindle

Motor: It drives the main shaft at the tilting plate's end. On the motor's free end is a big pulley
around which the belt passes. Unleash the might of your electric motor. It works by placing a
current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field, which causes a magnetic force in the direction of
Fleming's rule. When a motor works, it produces torque. This torque may rotate mechanically.
DC motors are categorized like generators as shunt wound, series wound, or compound wound.

Figure 5. Motor
Large Pulley: This pulley is connected from the smaller pulley whose rotation is from the motor.
Larger pulley reduces the speed of the motor and in turn rotates the drum slowly for even mixing
of different mixtures to produce seed balls.
 Figure 5. Pulley

Rolling Drum: The drum will be connected on the top of the frame. The drum rotates with the
help of pulley and the drum is connected with belt. The belt is connected from the wheel which
is welded at the bottom.

Experimentation
The seed ball rolling machine's operation is as follows: The wheels travel ahead as the farmer
pushes on the seed sowing machine's handle. The wheels start rotating at a certain speed. Wheels
are attached on a metallic rod that revolves with them. The pulleys on the metallic rod
communicate the wheel's rotation to the cam and follower shafts. The belt drive smooths the
wheel action to the pulleys. Pulleys are used to transmit motion along parallel axes. Because
these pulleys are parallel. The purpose of the pulley is to convey motion in similar plane with
similar speed. The diaphragm strip controls the seed rate by opening and closing the hopper
outlets. This mechanism makes the diaphragm repeat a stroke. The seeds are kept in the hopper.

Figure 6: Working model of seed ball rolling machine

Advantages of machine:
Following are the advantages of seed ball machine are
 Low cost.
 Easy construction.
 Easy to operate.
 Fast and accurate.
 Useful for any seed

Conclusion:
This project work has given us a great chance to use our limited expertise. During this project,
we learned a lot about planning, buying, assembly, and machining. We believe that project
work is a wonderful way to connect institutions and industry. We are happy of our
achievement in completing the task in a short period. The “FABRICATION OF SEED BALL
MACHINE” system is operating well. We understand the challenges of sustaining excellence.
We have used available facilities to the best of our abilities. So we created a “SEED BALL
MACHINE” that helps make seeds. Using further approaches, they may be tailored to specific
uses.

Future scope:

The proposed machine tool provides a flexible method for producing any type of seed ball.
With the use of industrial grade motors, pullies fitted with bearings and provided with AC
power supply, the system can be made efficient and practical. The pullies can be equipped
with motors for easy and quick mechanism with the world moving towards automation, the
machine tool can also be automated for reduced lead time and better product quality and
accuracy. So we can increase the machine's value. Using an electric motor, the machine may
be made automated, speeding up the seed planting process. We will use level sensors for
monitoring seed levels.

REFERENCES:

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

3. Roshan V. Marode, P.Gajanan, and K.Swapnil ,OCT 2013 “Design & Implementation of
Multiseed Sowing Machine”, Vol : 2,No. 4, ISSN No.: 2278-0149, patented.

4. Rohokale , 2004 “International journal of advanced agriculture system with proper seed
spacing”.

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