Design and Performance Evaluation of a Low-Cost Portable Rotary Cutting Machine for Sugar Palm Inflorescence Stalk Trimming

Riza Muhida; Muhammad Riza; Erry Yulian Triblas Adesta; Mochamad Ibnu Safari; Maman Abdurohman; Rifki Muhida; Ari Legowo

doi:10.22441/ijimeam.v8i2.38641

Authors

Riza Muhida Universitas Bandar Lampung, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0165-1465
Muhammad Riza Universitas Bandar Lampung, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3750-3894
Erry Yulian Triblas Adesta Universitas Bandar Lampung, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5564-5442
Mochamad Ibnu Safari Universitas Multimedia Nusantara, Indonesia
Maman Abdurohman Telkom University, Indonesia
Rifki Muhida Universitas Putra Indonesia YPTK, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5105-4164
Ari Legowo Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22441/ijimeam.v8i2.38641

Keywords:

Rotary cutting machine, sugar palm (Arenga pinnata), low-cost design, additive manufacturing, sustainable agriculture, biomass processing

Abstract

Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) sap tapping still relies on manual trimming of the inflorescence stalk surface using a machete. Although rotary cutting devices have been studied for several agricultural materials, quantitative evidence for a low-cost handheld machine specifically designed for sugar palm inflorescence stalk trimming is still limited. This study designed, fabricated, and evaluated a portable low-energy rotary cutting machine that integrates a rotary disc blade, DC worm gear motor, worm gearbox, rechargeable lithium battery, and protective blade cover. The novelty of the study is the task-specific evaluation of cutting time, operational capacity, energy consumption, battery-based trimming capacity, and prototype cost for smallholder sap tapping. Manual and machine-assisted trimming were compared using 20 repetitions for each method. The average cutting time decreased from 22.4 ± 1.1 to 6.8 ± 0.6 s/stalk, corresponding to a 69.64% reduction and 3.29 times faster operation than manual trimming. Operational capacity increased from 160.7 to 529.4 stalks/hour. The machine operated at 10.8 V and 0.95 A, requiring 10.26 W and 0.0194 Wh/stalk. A fully charged 10.8 V, 4.8 Ah battery can theoretically support approximately 2675 trimming operations before complete drainage. The prototype material cost was Rp 433,000, equivalent to approximately USD 24.25 using an exchange rate of Rp 17,856/USD. The results indicate that the developed device is a feasible low-cost and low-energy mechanization option for repetitive sugar palm inflorescence stalk trimming.

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Author Biographies

Riza Muhida, Universitas Bandar Lampung

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Universitas Bandar Lampung

Muhammad Riza, Universitas Bandar Lampung

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Universitas Bandar Lampung

Mochamad Ibnu Safari, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara

Universitas Multimedia Nusantara

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