Design and Fabrication of Automatic Inter-Row Weeding Machine
Design and Fabrication of Automatic Inter-Row Weeding Machine
Design and Fabrication of Automatic Inter-Row Weeding Machine
Abstract: Sophisticated machines and modern techniques have to be constantly developed and implemented for new products. At
the same time, we should take care that there has been no compromise made with quality and accuracy. Agricultural area has
been the area of continuous research, and has made significant improvement in the recent period. Currently, standard
cultivation removes weeds from the majority of the bed using sweeps, knives, coulters and blades. Typically a 4-inch wide band is
left around the seed line. Weeds in the uncultivated band are typically removed by hand, and the density of weeds that occur
there, determines how laborious and costly subsequent hand weeding will be. Automatic weeding machine is a project used to
remove unwanted plants/weeds, which grows around the crops. Technology will continue to develop and improve in the coming
years. These technologies do not entirely replace the need for hand labor, but they can make subsequent hand weeding
operations less costly and more efficient. Our intension is to make a machine which removes these unwanted plants more
efficiently and at a considerable less cost. A machine which removes weed from in the line and around the plants. It uses rotary
motor operated jaws which indeed removes weed. The design and other technical details are presented in this paper.
Keywords: Automatic, Inter-Row, Weeding machine, Efficient, Less Cost, electronic sensing,
I. INTRODUCTION
In vegetables crop production, weed management is very critical and is considered one of the most important operations. More than
70% of its population is dependent on agriculture for their living, still many of the farmers use conventional methods for farming.
Thus there is a need to bring in new modern technologies to make farming easy and time saving. To achieve a high yielding
vegetable production, good agricultural practices are required. Weeds are known to be very competitive in obtaining moisture,
sunlight and nutrients. This competitive nature will unfortunately affect the crop yield. One of the most important practices is to
properly manage weeds. Most crops require that the field be kept weed-free during the first four to six weeks after planting to
prevent serious yield losses from early season weed competition. Our intention is to make a machine which removes these unwanted
plants more efficiently and at a considerable less cost. We have made a machine which removes weed from in the line and around
the plants. It uses rotary motor operated jaws which indeed removes weed. This machine totally works on the electronic sensing
parts. Electronic control could provide more precise and reliable response with low maintenance. Mechanical Inter-Row Weeders
control weeds within the crop rows.As the machine is moving the weed remover removes the weeds present between the plants. To
use this machine in agriculture field the seeds should be sowed at a distance equal to or more than the width of this machine. This
machine eliminates the need for many workers and makes the work easier, economical and efficient.
that tools such as cutlass and hoes require high drudgery, time consuming and high labour force. As a solution to these problems,
mechanical weeder was designed and constructed. The mechanical weeder was made of two implements attachment i.e. the primary
cutting edge which is in front to loose soil above and the secondary cutting edge which is behind to do cutting and lifting of weeds.
The overall machine field efficiency was 98.67%.
In [2] J. O. Olaoye, And T. A. Adekanye Studied On “Development And Evaluation Of A Rotary Power Weeder” Weed control is
one of the most difficult tasks in agriculture that accounts for a considerable share of the cost involved in agricultural production.
The use of mechanical weeder will reduce drudgery and ensure a comfortable posture of the farmer or operator during weeding.
This will resultantly increase production. It is against this background that a rotary power weeder was developed. Results of field
performance evaluation showed that the field capacity and weeding efficiency of the rotary power weeder were 0.0712 ha/hr and
73%. The cost of operation with this weeder was estimated to be N 2,700.00 / ha as against N 12,000.00 / ha by manual weeding.
In [3] D A Mortensen, L Bastiaans & M Sattin Studied On “The Role Of Ecology In The Development Of Weed Management
Systems” This paper discusses the extent to which knowledge of weed biology and ecology can contribute to the development of
weed management strategies. Eco-physiological research has helped to guide the development of biologically effective herbicide
dosage strategies, whereas mechanistic interplant competition modeling coupled with empirical field studies have aided in the
identification of weed-suppressive crop phenotypes. In this paper, examples are reviewed where research in ecology and biology has
helped to shape the practice of integrated weed management. More importantly, characteristics of such research programs are
identified so that future efforts in the discipline will have a context in which the relevance of research questions and approaches can
be considered.
In [4] Krishna A. Madalli, Maruti B, Labbi, Mallikarjun J Kanoj, Mahantesh Mirji M. Studied On Mechanical Weeder a weed is
essentially any plant which grows where it is unwanted. A weed can be thought of as any plant growing in the wrong place at the
wrong time and doing more harm than good. The main objective is the development of a weeding tool, which can be used in
different plant spacing systems, various plant intra-row distances and growth stages. The need for non-chemical weed control
techniques has steadily increased in the last fifteen years, as a consequence of the environmental pollution originated by the
intensive application of pesticides in agriculture. Another reason why non-chemical weeding is in the limelight nowadays is
increased interest in the organically produced agricultural products and foodstuffs. To ensure, with high confidence, that the
weeding tool will not cause any negative influence on the crop, the area in which the plant is, should be always increased with a so-
called “protected” (ring-shape) area around it.
In [5] Wakchaure Prakash, Wakchaure Shamli, Wani Priyanka, Parhad Kalpana, Arote Dnyaneshwar Studied on “Design and
Development of Automated Farm Weeding Machine” An engineer is always focused towards challenges of bringing ideas and
concepts to life. Therefore, sophisticated machines and modern techniques have to be constantly developed and implemented for
new products. Automatic weeding machine is a project used to remove unwanted plants/weeds, which grows around the crops.
Technology will continue to develop and improve in the coming years. These technologies do not entirely replace the need for hand
labor, but they can make subsequent hand weeding operations less costly and more efficient. So we are going to make a prototype
which removes these unwanted plants more efficiently and at a considerable less cost. We have made a machine which removes
weed from in the line and around the plants.
In [6] Akhtar Ali Rizvi, Aqib Naque, Amogh V. Tijarem, A. B. Tupkar Studied on “Design, Development and Fabrication of Soil
Tiller and Weeder” The soil tiller and weeder is one of the many farm mechanization in promoting soil tiller and weeders especially
considering the fact that the majority of farmers are having small land. It reduces human effort. it will have very effective uses on
the farm field either for tiling as well as for weeding. Development of high capacity energy efficient versatile machines and
combination machinery for increased labor productivity, reduced unit cost of operation, improved timeliness of operation and
suitable for custom hiring.
In [7] Thorat Deepak Sabaji, P. K. Sahoo, Dipankar D. and Mir Asif Iqueba Studied On “Design And Development Of Ridge
Profile Power Weeder” Weeds are always associated with human endeavor’s and cause huge reductions in crop yields, increase cost
of cultivation, reduce input efficiency, interfere with agricultural operations, impair quality, act as alternate hosts for several insect
pests, diseases and nematodes. Weeds compete with crop plants for various inputs like water, nutrients, sunlight. The composition
and competition by weeds are dynamic and dependent on soil, climate, cropping and management factors. Weeds decrease the value
of land, particularly perennial weeds, which tend to accumulate on long fallows; increase cost of cleaning. Significant portion of
farmer’s time is wasted for weeding of crops.
In [8] Olawale John, Olukunlea, Philip Oguntundea Studied on “Design of a Row Crop Weeder” the operation involved in crop
production cycle include land clearing land leveling, tillage, and crop establishment, harvesting and post-harvest operations. Crop
establishment is necessary to eliminate the effect of weeds, pests and disease infestation and to provide suitable conditions for
optimum yield. The machine is simple, cost effective and useful for small to medium scale farm holders. It is also a positive step
towards reduction of drudgery involved in row crop weeding. Zero tillage, conventional tillage (with plough and harrow) and other
cultural tillage practices that would present crops on the flat are well suited for the adoption of this machine. The cost of the
prototype machine was estimated at 500 US Dollars (N 65,000.00). However the cost of the commercial model was estimated at 300
US Dollars (N39, 000.00). The machine is economically viable with fuel consumption limited to 8 liters per day.
In [9] Albert Francis A, Aravindh R, Ajith M, Barath Kumar M studied on "Weed Removing Machine For Agriculture" the effective
design of weed removing machine is to minimize the time taken for removing weed present between the growing plants. The
vertical adjustment is to increase and decrease the height of the secondary rotating shaft and the rotary blades. It is mainly focused
to increase the growth rate of plants. The horizontal distance can be adjusted by increasing the distance between the individual
blades of the machine.
T =
τact =
7.763 =
d3 = 737.089
d = 9.033mm select
d = 20mm.
5) Bearing selection: As shaft diameter is 20mm so we have selection a pedestal bearing having shaft outer diameter = 20mm.
7) Blade : The blade is made of MS material. With the dimensions of 150mm X 27mm. It is the major part to cut the weed with
the sharp edges. It is connected to the motor with the help of pulley assembly and shaft the shaft is connected to the cutting
Rotor and the blade is attached to the cutting rotor with the help of nut and bolt of 8mm diameter.
The blade consist of 5 holes in it which makes it movable in inwards direction and outwards direction.
8) Weed cutter: The weed cutter is the rotating part of the mechanism which is connected to the shaft which moves with the help
of motor. The cutter is made of Mild Steel and has the dimensions of 300mm X 30mm in width and 150mm X 3 mm in height.
B. Parts to be purchased
1) Pedestal Bearings: This type of bearing consists of a cast iron pedestal, gun metal, or brass bush split into two halves called
“brasses”, and a cast iron cap and two mild steel bolts. The detailed drawing of a pedestal bearing is shown in image below. The
rotation of the bush inside the bearing housing is arrested by a snug at the bottom of the lower brass. The cap is tightened on the
pedestal block by means of bolts and nuts. The detailed part drawings of another Plummer block with slightly different
dimensions are also shown in image below. The minimum diameter of this bearing is 20mm and we have used the same bearing
as the shaft diameter is 20mm. There are two types of pedestal bearing horizontal and vertical bearings.
2) Shaft: Shaft is a common and important machine element. It is a rotating member, in general, has a circular cross-section and is
used to transmit power. The shaft may be hollow or solid. The shaft is supported on bearings and it rotates a set of gears or
pulleys for the purpose of power transmission. It is made of the ferrous, non-ferrous materials and non-metals are used as shaft
material depending on the application. The shaft diameter is 20mm. The height of the shaft is 700mm for the Axle wheel and
the shaft of the cutting part is of 300mm in height.
3) Washer: A washer is a thin plate (typically disk-shaped) with a hole (typically in the middle) that is normally used to distribute
the load of a threaded fastener such as a screw or nut. Other uses are as a spacer, spring (wave washer), wear pad, preload
indicating device, locking device, and to reduce vibration rubber washer.
4) Nut and Bolt: As nuts and bolts are not perfectly rigid, but stretch slightly under load, the distribution of stress on the threads is
not uniform. In fact, on a theoretically infinitely long bolt, the first thread takes a third of the load, the first three threads take
three-quarters of the load, and the first six threads take essentially the whole load.
5) Battery: An electric battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into
electrical energy. Each cell contains a positive terminal, or cathode, and a negative terminal, or anode. Electrolytes allow ions to
move between the electrodes and terminals, which allows current to flow out of the battery to perform work.
6) IR Transmitter And IR Receiver Sensor: The IR transmitting circuit is used in many projects. The IR transmitter sends 40 kHz
(frequency can be adjusted) carrier control. IR carriers at around 40 kHz carrier frequencies are widely used in TV remote
controlling and ICs for receiving these signals are quite easily available. The transmitted signal reflected by the obstacle and the
IR receiver circuit receives the signal and giving control signal to the control unit. The control unit activates the weeding cutter
& motor system.
7) Wheels: A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the main components
of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be
moved easily facilitating movement or transportation while supporting a load, or performing labor in machines
8) Motor: An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. A motor controllers a
device that serves to govern in some predetermined manner the performance. The motor rotates in clockwise as well as in anti-
clockwise direction. Motor needs electricity for its functioning.
Table No. 3.1. Specification of motor
Type Gear motor
Frequency 50/60 Hz
Voltage 12 V
Speed 60 r.p.m.
Power 50 watt
C. Working Principles
There are only two major principles on which system generally works:
1) Electronic Sensing for automatic actuation of the machine
2) Belt pulley mechanism for power transmission
By conventional method,
Time required to cut the 1 acre of land
No. of labor required for work = 5 labor
working hrs/ day = 8 hrs/ day
= 4 x 8 = 32hrs for 5 labors
Therefore time required to working for same field is less by Machining method then conventional method.
A. Result Table
V. CONCLUSION
We had enormous practical experience on fulfillment of the manufacturing schedules of the working project model. We are
therefore, happy to state that the in calculation of mechanical aptitude proved to be a very useful purpose. Although the design
criterions imposed challenging problems which, however were overcome by us due to availability of good reference books. The
selection of choice raw materials helped us in machining of the various components to very close tolerance and thereby minimizing
the level of balancing problem. Needless to emphasis here that we had lift no stone unturned in our potential efforts during
machining, fabrication and assembly work of the project model to our entire satisfaction to solve the problem in agricultural field for
social welfare.
VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to express our gratitude to all those who provided help and cooperation in various ways at the different stages for this
research paper. Also, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to principal of Loknete Gopinathji Munde Institute of
Engineering Education & Research Dr.K. V. Chandratrae, Head of Mechanical Department Prof. R. R. Chakule.
REFERENCES
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