DESIGN, ANALYSIS & MANUFACTURE OF A SAFE LOW COST CHAFF CUTTER

Abstract

Rising human injuries owing to unsafe Chaff Cutters among farmers is an increasing concern in Pakistan. Chaff cutters are the leading cause of agricultural injuries (50-65%). Injuries are mostly the upper limb amputations. Victims usually are the young people leaving them unable to work. The main reason is the non-existence of any kind of safety mechanism in the locally available chaff cutters. Designing and manufacturing of a chaff cutter that meets the requirements of safety and capacity while keeping it affordable for the local people is the requirement not only on the humanitarian basis but it also targets a vacuum in the local industry. The purpose of this project is to design a chaff cutter of required capacity, equipped with a safety mechanism and within affordability range of the locals. A Chaff cutter is a mechanical device used to chop forage into small pieces of desired size before for livestock and Cattles. Using Market surveys and literature review, this study analyzed the existing chaff cutters, the threat they are to the safety of their operator and the problems faced by their operator. After that we proposed a new improved design to overcome these challenges. A detailed description of material selection for blades, fodder roller, frame, casings, as per International standards is also included for ensuring a sustainable and reliable operation of hay or straw cutting along with optimum efficiency and longevity. New methods were developed to design and manufacture a safe low-cost Chaff cutter of the capacity competitive to the ones already in use and using low-cost alternatives for the mechanical systems. Chaff cutter was modelled and analyzed using a CAD software by taking trails to amend the detected errors.