SOLAR SEED SPRAYER + GRASS CUTTER + VACUUM CLEANER IN A SINGLE UNIT PROJECT REFERENCE NO. : 37S0492 COLLEGE : KLS GOGTE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, BELGAUM BRANCH : MECHANICAL ENGINEERING GUIDE : V.N.SATWIK STUDENTS : OMKARKARGAR GANGARAMGURAV PRAMODHARADE Introduction In recent times, rural development has received a great deal of attention in development, in national plans, on political platforms and in the lending programme of most donor countries. This is because it has now been realised, that an improvement in the working and living conditions of the rural people is the first steps towards the achievement of a balance urban rural development, which has come to be regarded as indispensable in any worthwhile development programme. However, the need for rural development is more pressing in the developing countries, where the rural sector is appreciably large than the urban sector. There is no doubt much has been done in India by way of attempts to identify and to prescribe solutions to some of the thorny problems facing the economy. One problem area that has been identified as critical and echoed in virtually every development plan has been the condition of poverty that characterizes the rural sector. 1. The problem of rural poverty has been seen as directly related to the rather backward subsistence nature of agriculture in the rural sector. According to a thesis: The poverty of the mass of the rural population was a consequence of the very low productivity of the farming population. The low productivity led to low incomes. Little or nothing was left for savings or investment after consumption. 2. The third 5-year plan emphasized the crucial role of agriculture in general economic development in India in the following terms: It is nonetheless obvious that however much progress is made in the non-agricultural sector of the economy the general level of prosperity in India cannot increase significantly unless 1
agriculture which employs nearly 2/3 of the labour force also undergoes a revolutionary change. 3. Economic development is characterized by a substantial increase in demand for agricultural product and failure to expand food supplies in pace with growth in demand can seriously impede economic growth. There is no doubt that agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of India. Agriculture plays an important role in the lives of the rural population. For example 73.3% of all persons employed in the rural sector were engaged in agriculture. Furthermore, of all the people employed in agriculture in 1970, 90.1% lived in the rural areas. 4. The first role of agriculture may seem obvious but on close examination we can see that its importance goes beyond the need to keep a growing population alive. If the food supply is increasing more slowly than the population, nutritional standards will either be lower or will be maintained by increasing food imports. Spending scarce foreign exchange on food means that less is available to import capital, technology, skilled labour and management the factors of production that tend to be in short supply in the country. Poor agricultural performance hinders the growth of the rest of the economy and limits the resources available to promote development. Another important aspect of food production is its contribution to the formation of human capital. Malnutrition causes both mental and physical retardation and poor diet also affects general health. 5. As a result worker absenteeism is higher and on-the-job productivity lower than would be the case with a well-nourished labour force. A slowly growing agricultural sector can also result in inflationary pressures. If domestic food production is not growing rapidly and particularly if food imports are limited by foreign exchange constraints both the absolute and the relative price of food will tend to rise. These inflationary effects will be particularly burdensome for the very poor, who spend 50% or more of their income on food. The second major role of agriculture in the process of development is to provide a market for the products of the industrial sector. 6. The speed of the industrialisation process itself will depend on how rapidly agricultural incomes are rising. If economic growth is confined to urban areas, the domestic market for manufactured goods will be very restricted and import substitution possibilities thus will be limited. In the early periods of economic growth, rising incomes in the agricultural sector can expand the market not only for 2
light consumer goods (radios, bicycles, kitchen, and utensils) but also for agricultural implements. The agricultural sector is important as a source of savings. That is if sufficient domestic food requirement can be provided then the scarce foreign exchange that may be used in importing food could be saved to build up foreign capital. In the same vein, increased food crops production by the small scale farmer could lead to increased income for him to meet his basic needs, domestic capital can then be mobilized from the surplus earnings of these smallscale farmers. Agricultural and its closely related activities provide about 62% of the foreign exchange earnings for the country. 7. Nevertheless, tapping the agricultural potential is not an easy task, even if the agricultural sector is growing rapidly. The task in even difficult if agricultural output is increasing only enough to keep up with population growth. Poor agricultural performance hinders the growth of the rest of the economy and limits the resources available to promote development. Agriculture should also supply substantial amounts of foreign exchange and domestic revenue or capital for financing governmental activities, servicing of foreign debt and actual non-farm investment. 8. Finally, agriculture employs the bulk of the labour force in the initial stage of development. In the long run, as this sector becomes developed it would then release labour for employment in the sector of the economy. About 70% of population of India lives in villages. The core occupation of people lives in villages is agriculture (farming). Yet India is not self-sufficient in producing enough food. Every year hundreds of tons of food-grains are imported from foreign countries. Agriculture is of extreme importance for the progress of developing country like India. Objective of the Project: To develop an Ultra-Low Cost Device/Machine that performs Multiple agricultural operations with Zero operating cost, addressing the Major problems of the Indian Farmers. The primary aim of the project is to design, develop and implement a low cost machine that can be afforded by any poor farmer. The project will have a vast social impact and affect the life of masses. 3
This machine will address the following problems faced by farmers in India Financial Constraints No access to Technology Lack of Govt. support Lack of Knowledge Working Mechanism: The Solar panel (specification: 10W, 12A, 10*12inch) will be placed at the top in the device and is supported by the frame, it is placed such that it comes right above the head of the farmer, providing him shade, like a cap. The frame will be designed such that, the panel along with the frame can be tilted/rotated to position the solar panel normal/perpendicular to the sun rays depending upon the position of the sun, in order to trap greater solarenergy and increase the power generation. The panel traps the solar energy, converts it into electricity, which is then stored in a Battery (specification: 12V dc) placed at the bottom in the device on the frame. The battery provides the necessary electricity for the operation of the device. To control the supply of electricity to each part, Toggle switches are used. A Tank (specification: plastic, light weight of 10lts capacity) will be attached at the top of the frame. It is used to carry seeds or liquid viz. pesticides, fertilizers etc. Tank has 2 outlets. One of the outlets is connected to the outlet of blower; the other outlet is connected to the hose pipe. The battery runs the Motor (specification: dc, 2000rpm, high torque) placed at the center. The shaft of the motor drives the Air Blower (Specification: Diameter 9inch, Aluminum), which blows the air out at high speed through a hosepipe. To this hosepipe, the outlet of the tank is attached. Hence a partial vacuum is created at the tank outlet and the seeds or liquid fall down in the hosepipe and are sprayed by the action of the blower. A spray nozzle is fitted at the end of the hosepipe to spray the seeds/liquids uniformly. The rate of spraying the seeds or liquids is controlled by using control valves. A cap is inserted at the inlet of the blower to allow the entry on air only through this restricted opening. A pipe is inserted in the cap and the other end of the pipe with a filter to avoid entry of dust into the blower is inserted inside the tank. From the outlet of the tank, another long pipe is drawn out, which will work as inlet for the vacuum cleaner. As the blower is operated, due to high suction pressure at the inlet of the blower, the dust particles 4
are sucked inside the tank. The filter prevents the dust particles from entering the blower and gets collected in the tank. The tank can be emptied later. A hollow shaft for grass cutter is supported by the frame. At the end of the handle, there is a 45deg. bend, to which a high rpm motor is attached. The electric wire connecting the motor and the battery passes through this hollow shaft. The shaft of the motor drives the Blades (specification: Nylon wire) which is used for grass cutting action. Advantages: Applications of the project: Low Cost Zero Operating Cost Light weight Multiple Functions High Capacity Pollution Free Seed Spraying Fertilizer Spraying Pesticide Spraying Grass Cutter Vacuum Cleaner Domestic Lighting Cooling Fan Time taken to charge the battery: 5-7 hours Time for which the sprayer will run: 2 hours Time for which the vacuum cleaner will run: 2 hours Time for which the grass cutter will run: 3.5 hours Conclusion: This project work has provided us an excellent opportunity and experience, to use our limited knowledge. We gained a lot of practical knowledge regarding planning, designing, purchasing, assembling and machining while doing this project work. We feel that the project work is a good solution to bridge the gates between institution and industries. 5
We are proud that we have completed the work with the limited time successfully. We are able to understand the difficulties in maintaining the tolerances and also quality. We have done to our ability and skill making maximum use of available facilities. Thus we have developed a SOLAR SEED SPRAYER + GRASS CUTTER + VACUUM CLEANER IN A SINGLE UNIT which helps to know how to achieve great farm yield with simple mechanisms. The application of this machine is very high when compared to the cost of the machine. By using more such techniques, cutting costs, employing indigenous technologies, these devices can bring a revolution in the modernization of Indian farming. Future scope: The solar panel can be fitted with 4 light sensors. Thus depending upon the position of the sun, the panel will be tilted, such that the sun rays are incident normally (at 90deg) to the solar panel. With this the device would be even capable of trapping the solar energy at times when the intensity of the sun light is less (Example: Early morning, evening, during raining season etc.) 6