Design and construction of a low cost coconut husk removing machine

Abstract

De-husking with traditional hand tools like machete or a spike depends on the skill of worker and involves training. Nowadays there is shortage of such skilled Workers. These affect the production rate of de-husking the coconut also more hazardous and harmful to user. To overcome the limitations and problems in the present methods, a manual or automated machine should be designed and fabricated. This research is to design and fabricate a low-cost coconut husk removing machine. The main purpose of this machine is to eliminate problems and limitations involved in de-husking process and to promote some small-scale industries and self-employment, especially for women. The machine with manual loading and unloading of coconuts will yield productivity higher than the existing process with less manpower. Also, the machine can accommodate different sizes of the coconut that are cultivated anywhere in Sri Lanka. Also, various experiments have been conducted on both dry and mature coconuts in order to determine the force required to de-husk the coconut. Test result and assessment of the present manual machine in both laboratory and field conditions are also reported. Safety aspects are incorporated. The unit can de-husk about 70 coconuts per hour compared with about 40 nuts per hour from a skilled worker using the spike method. Cost benefit analysis indicates that it should be commercially viable.