A Simple Portable Cable Way for Agricultural Resource Collection

Abstract

A signficant problem faced by the Indian farmer today is thedifficulty of obtaining labor for farm operations. The most labor intensiveoperation is the post-harvest resource collection. A simple, economical,compact cable way system has been designed, developed and fabricatedto haul sugarcane loads from the field. The cable way is made up ofsimple collapsible steel 'A' posts, which can be assembled on-site fromready-made frames. The sugarcane loads are slung on trolleys whichmove on a steel cable passing over the top of the frames, the cable beingtightened with a chain pulley block. The trolleys are pulled along by arecirculating rope operated by a winch. The empty trolley is pulled alongby the same rope along a cable way running near the bottom of the 'A'post,. Several trolleys can move simultaneously along the cable way.With a 2 HP motor the trolley speed was noticed to be about 0.3m/s andthe overall performance of the prototype was satisfactory. The entiresetup is fabricated from easy available and low cost components.