The Design of Flexible Rubber Tapping Tool with Settings the Depth and Thickness Control

Abstract

Road map of land for agricultural commodities in West Aceh is prioritized for rubber plantations. This commodity is the main source of livelihood and employment for the commodity. Furthermore, it is very difficult for a novice tap to be able to control the depth, thickness, and slope of tapping angle. Therefore, rubber tapping is created to increase the productivity of rubber crops in this region. This research conducted using software where the selection of component materials and manufacturing are tested on 9 rubber trees. The treatment is carried out according to the design plan; controlling the depth between 1-1.5 mm of cambium, tapping the thickness 1.5-2 mm, and tilting the angles of 350-600. Thus, the result of the functional testing shows that rubber tapping can function properly and the test data at interval 09:00-10:00 WIB for slope 60°, 45°, 35° obtained the average latex amount of 1.83 grams, 1.11 grams, and 0.74 grams. In addition, the rubber tapping capacity of 5-6 seconds per tree is better when compared to conventional rubber tapping between 6-8 seconds with 5.32 cm3 rubber bark consumption.