Conceptual Design of Harvesters Knife for Chinese Spinach (Ipomoea Reptans Poir.): CAD Approach

Hand tractor is the driving source of popular agricultural equipment in Indonesia. Therefore, the hand tractor can be used as a source of power harvesting machine. One of the harvest tools that need to be designed today is the harvesting machine for Chinese spinach (Ipomoea reptans Poir.). The most important unit of a harvesting machine is the knife. The success of a harvesting machine design is found in the shape and material of the blade used. Experimental research was more expensive and more time. Therefore, this paper describes a conceptual design of knife for Chinese spinach harvesting machine through a CAD approach. The best blade shape is determined by the angle of the blade and the strength of the blade is best determined by the material. The simulated blade angle is 15°, 45° and 60° to 1060 Alloy meter, AISI 316 SS, Phenol-Formaldehyde Resins (PF). The maximum force required for cutting of Chinese spinach is given 0.1019 kgf. The simulation results using FEM show that the greater the angle of the blade will be greater to receive stress and displacement. The simulation results also show that the use of AISI 316 SS material can be used as a blade of Chinese spinach harvesting machine.