Design And Development of Teakwood Bud Pruning Machine Using Sustainable Engineering Approach

¹ Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Kongu Engineering College, Erode, India
² Division of Research & Development, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India

^* Corresponding author: shankariitm@gmail.com

Abstract

The primary goal of this paper is to develop a robot capable of efficiently climbing teak wood trees and performing bud pruning tasks, thereby addressing the challenges posed by labor scarcity in farming. Teak wood cultivation has been significantly affected by the lack of skilled labor, necessitating a minimum of five tree climbs per year for successful cultivation. The proposed robot design features an ‘X’ frame structure with conical-shaped rollers positioned at the bottom, connected to two DC motors. These motors can be controlled remotely to enable vertical movement along the tree. To ensure secure attachment, springs are utilized to fasten the robot model to the tree. At the top of the robot, an appropriately arranged motor-driven chainsaw is installed to execute high-speed bud pruning. Overall, this robot will be helpful to automate the pruning process through sustainable development.The bud pruning robot described consists of an ‘X’ frame design with two conical-shaped rollers at the bottom.These rollers are connected to two DC motors, which are controlled by a remote, allowing the robot to move up and down the tree.To ensure stability and secure attachment to the tree, springs are utilized to firmly fasten the robot in place. The top of the frame is equipped with a high-speed DC motor to which a chainsaw is attached for the purpose of pruning buds.