REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

CEBU CITY CAMPUS
CORNER M.J. CUENCO & R. PALMA STREET, CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES
Website: [Link] email: information@[Link]
Tel. No. (032) 402 4060 local 1135

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

SUGARCANE CUTTING AND TOPPING MACHINE

FOR SMALL-SCALE FARMS

A Research Proposal

Presented to

The Faculty of Engineering

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

In Methods of Research for ME

Submitted by:

Ken Denver G. Maglinte

Grint Louie A. Gabato

Janrick A. Libradilla

Eric John C. Basog

Niko Mangubat

April 2019

“We dare to dream we care to share.”

 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

In the Philippines, agricultural activities account more than a third of the country’s

labor force. Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) recorded an annual labor force

participation of 43.5 million economically active out of the 71.3 million populations with

age of 15 years old above during 2018. Workers from the agriculture sector comprise

24.3% of the total number of employees in 2018. As the sector contributes a role for the

country’s growth, then should also be taken focus of and implementation of adaptation

to modernization is a must for sustainability.

Geographically, according to PSA (2012), an estimation of 32% of the country's

total land areas were agricultural lands. Lands fit for growing crops account 51% of the

agricultural lands and 44% were permanent croplands. The country has suitable soil for

growing and cultivating crops. There are 21 major crops grown and cultivated in the

country. Sugarcane is among those major crops grown.

Sugarcane (Saccharum) or popularly known as “tubo” in the Philippines, refers to

one of the tall perennial grasses that forms lateral shoots at the base producing multiple

stems, typically measuring 3 to 4 meters tall with about 5 centimeters diameter. The

stalk makes up about 75% of the entire plant when it matures.

Sugarcane is a plant suited for tropical areas and requires a year warm weather

to reach maturity. Suitable areas for cultivation have temperature of 20° to 26°C with
rainfall averaging of 150cm. It is not sensitive to cultivate as long as the soil is well-

fertile and drained. The harvest period ranges from December to May.

The country’s sugarcane industry has an annual economic contribution of not

lower than P70 billion. During the crop year (CY) 2017-2018, the total sugarcane

plantation area was 418,256 hectares with Visayas Region making up about 66%,

Mindanao with 20%, and Luzon with 14%. According to the PSA, for the fourth quarter

of 2018, the highest production belongs to Western Visayas with 5.28 million metric tons

of cane which is equivalent to 75.1% total national sugarcane production and

succeeded with 11.1% of Northern Mindanao and 5.8% of Central Visayas.

Small farms of 10 hectares and below cover the most of the total sugarcane

plantation area with about 36%, big farms of 50 hectares and above cover about 34%

and the farms of sizes 10 to 50 hectares cover about 30%. Eastern and Central Visayas

has three sugarcane mill districts namely Durano, Bogo-Medellin, and Ormoc-Kananga.

Particularly, in Bogo-Medellin mill district, it covers Bogo, Borbon, Medellin, San

Remegio, Daanbantayan, and Tabogon of Cebu province. Durano was then merged

with Bogo-Medellin mill district during the crop year 2012-2013. According to the

Sugarcane Regulatory Administration (SRA), for the crop year 2017-2018, the mill

district has a total of sugarcane area planted and harvested of 6,300 hectares and a

total production of 269,930 tons.

Harvesting operations of sugarcane can be done by means of machines or by

manual method. In areas utilizing the manual method, they make use of sickles and

knives for harvesting sugarcane. Lack of locally designed and fabricated machines
gives less production and serves as hindrance for local farmers to cope up with the

sustainable agriculture. Thus, mechanization of sugarcane harvesting can carry out the

potential of the crop to uplift the country’s agricultural sector and as a commodity.
 THE PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

Small-scale farming contributes more to the volume of production compared to

industrialized farming mainly because small farms accounts a bigger percentage on the

country’s sugarcane area. Due to lesser availability of locally designed and fabricated

sugarcane harvesting machines for cutting and topping operations, there are still

farmers who practice manual harvesting which makes use of knives and sickles. Manual

harvesting requires laborers with enough knowledge and skills as improperness may

damage the crop leading to lesser sugar yield and poor juice quality. It also posts safety

concerns as such operation involves tools for shearing and cutting such as sickles and

knives which can cause injuries.

Objectives

Lack of appropriate and suitable machineries for small-scale farming is one of the

causes contributing to low productivity of the agricultural sector in the Philippines

especially in Medellin, Cebu. Hence, other small farms are viewed to be incompetent.

Thus, this study aims the followings objectives:

 To develop a sugarcane harvesting machine for cutting and topping

operations for small scale farms.

  To design a sugarcane harvesting machine considering human safety

factor.

 To combine cutting and topping mechanism in one system for continuous

operation.

Statement of Hypothesis

If the machine with combined cutting and leaf-removing operations will be able to

harvest a great quantity, then it will be efficient. If the machine posts operator safety

factor, then it will be an advantage.

Significance of the Study

Increasing demand by mills urges farmers to cope up with the sugarcane supply.

The machine can use and utilize in rural areas that belong to the Borbon-Medellin mill

district, especially in Medellin, Cebu where small-scale farming of sugarcane is a

primary commodity. The machine combines cutting and topping of sugarcane in one

system of operation, posts operator safety factor and requires less labor.
Scope and Limitations

The scope of this study is to design, develop, and fabricate a sugarcane

harvesting machine with combine cutting and topping. The machine is applicable to

small scale operation for sugarcane harvesting in rural areas in Medellin, Cebu.

Furthermore,

 To select appropriate and locally available materials to be used for the

design and fabrication of the machine.

 To evaluate the performance of the machine based on its efficiency,

effectivity, and quality of harvest.

Theoretical Background

This study is anchored on existing theories and models which serve as basis for

its functionality and those are the following:

Materials

The machine should have elements made of material suitable for operating

conditions. Selection of proper materials has factors needed to be followed and

considered. Those factors are the classification, economics, and properties of the

materials.
  Classification of Materials

Materials are classified as:

a. Metallic

b. Polymeric

c. Ceramics

d. Composites

 Economic Consideration

A desirable material is one that suits the purpose of application and of considerable

cost. The following are the economic factors that need to be considered:

a. Availability

b. Suitability

c. Cost
  Properties

a. Mechanical

The mechanical properties of engineering materials are brittleness, elasticity,

ductility, hardness, machinability, malleability, plasticity, stiffness, and toughness.

b. Physical

Appearance and optical properties, density, melting point, and thermal and

electrical conductivity comprises the physical properties of a material.

c. Chemical

Chemical properties involve flammability and corrosion resistance of a material.

Safety of Operation

Any parts of the machines can post safety risks and concerns. In the design of

machines, it is necessary to consider and provide safety devices for the operator which

in a way will not interrupt the operation of the machine.

Design or Working Stress

One of the factors in designing machines is to keep the stress from exceeding

the ultimate stress at which the failure occurs. The stress under operating conditions is
known as design or working stress and it is considered as safe and allowable. It can be

defined through:

Ultimate Strength of the Material

Design Stress =
Factor of Safety

Bending Moment

Application of forces causes a machine and structural member to develop a

bending moment that varies from one point to another along its axis. Beams are the

most common member subjected to bending moments and are classified according to

its supports such as simply supported, cantilevered, or overhanging. Moments are

calculated by simply multiple the forces applied to the distance to where it is applied.

The general mathematical calculation for bending moment is as shown below;

M = WL

where:

W = load

L = length of the beam

Shaft

Shafts transmit power by means of torsion and are classified as transmission and

machine shafts. Transmission shafts are those that are used in power transmission
between the source and the machines absorbing the power while machine shafts are

those that is a constituent of the machine itself. The power transmitted to machine

members connected to the shaft is being delivered by a tangential force and the

resulting torque permits the transmission.

The design analyses of shafts are:

Power transmitted, P;

P = 2πTN

T = Fr

For stress in shaft subject to torsion, Sts ;

16T
Sts = (solid round shaft)
πd3

where:

T = torque on shaft

F = tangential force at the rim of shaft

r = radius of shaft

N = rotational speed
 d = diameter of the solid shaft

V-belt

V-belts are suitable for short drives application and are commonly used in the

transmission of great amount of power from one pulley to another.

Advantages of V-belt Driver over Flat Belt Drive

a. Compact

b. Positive drive

c. Life span of 3 to 5 years

d. Ease in installation and removal

e. Less noise in the operation

f. Lessens shock during machine operation

g. High velocity ratio

h. Transmits great amount of power

Gears

Gears are preferred when transmitting definite velocity ratio. Bevel gears are

used for shafts intersecting at an angle. This type of gear may have internal or external

contact and with teeth of straight or spiral.

Classification of Bevel Gears:

1. Miter gears - equal bevel gears (having equal teeth and equal pitch angles)

connecting two shafts whose axes intersect at right angle

2. Angular bevel gears - bevel gears connecting two shafts whose axes intersect at an

angle other than right angle

3. Crown bevel gears - bevel gears connecting two shafts whose axes intersect at an

angle greater than right angle with one bevel gear having a pitch angle of 90°

4. Internal bevel gears - bevel gear with teeth cut on the inside of the pitch cone

Analysis of Bevel Gears

T1 N1 = T2 N2

Velocity ratio

Dp T1 N2
= =
Dg T2 N1
where:

Dp , T1 , N1 = pitch diameter of the pinion, number of teeth and speed respectively

Dg , T2 , N2 = pitch diameter of the pinion, number of teeth and speed respectively

Harvesting
Operations
Small Farms Advantages

Sugarcane
Cutting and
Topping Machine
for Small Scale
Farms

Fig. 1.1: Conceptual Framework

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Situation of Agricultural Mechanization in the Philippines

Agricultural mechanization is comprised of manufacture, distribution and

utilization of tools. The main intent of agriculture mechanization is to provide a growth of

the agricultural sector’s contribution to the economy by promoting proper cultivation and

harvesting, environment consciousness, and good production. It also helps in solving

problems brought by labor shortage (DOST, 2009).

The agricultural sector is one of the prime contributors of the country’s economy.

The sector has a high potential to generate labor and uplift agriculture as commodity.

Such potentials are obstructed by the lack of appropriate agricultural technologies and

mechanization (Amongo et al., 2011).

Evaluation of the status of mechanization should not limit on a specific crop. The

country needs to adapt on agricultural mechanization for food sufficiency, increase farm

income, modernize agriculture and educate the farmers about the advantages on

adapting to mechanization technologies because of the scarcity of local labor due to

ageing farmers, shifting to other sector and the youths’ lack of interest in farming (DOA,

2018).

The problems affecting mechanization are can all be summed up to costly farm

inputs and lack of access to current farming technologies. Those problems affect the
farmers productivity in return. The enacted law Agriculture and Fishery Mechanization

(AFMech Law of 2013) is expected to establish plans for mechanization and

modernization of the country’s agricultural sector (Suministrado, 2013).

Sugarcane and Sugar Industry in the Philippines

Sugarcane is popularly known as “tubo” in the Philippines. The country depends

on it as a main source for centrifugal and refined sugar aside from beets. It belongs to

the country’s top exported crops and its industry contributes a big part to the labor

participation force with workers and farmers of around 600,000 and 62,000 respectively.

Millers, distillers, and refineries are the ones controlling and managing the sugar

industry. The Visayas region is the top player for the industry with 18 millers and three

distilleries. The Department of Agriculture has Sugar Regulatory Administration

authorized to control and manage the country’s sugar industry and other related tasks.

The administration has also published a certain policy that controls the circulation of

sugar production for domestic used and apportion for export purposes known as the

Sugar Order No. 1. Despite having a big contribution to the economy, sugar industry

has challenges needed to be coped up. That could only be possible with the big help of

the government. The options to cope up with challenges that the industry is facing all

lead up to the need to adapt to modernize and mechanize way of farming and

harvesting sugarcane (PEF, 2016).

Sugar production in mills depends on sugarcane production and delivery by

farmers. Mills’ efficiency is interconnected with the quality and quantity of the

sugarcanes that undergo milling process. Maturity, trash content, and fertilization affect
the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcanes. Sugar industry should be accompanied

and supported by the government in its implementation and adaptation to science and

technology to uplift the effectivity, productivity, and competitiveness of sugarcane as a

commodity (Mendoza, 2016).

Factors and Properties of Sugarcane

Before harvesters are developed and constructed it is necessary to take the

physical properties of sugarcane into account. Physical properties of involves the

length, diameter, weight, characteristics of both nodes and leaves, and trash content of

the sugarcane. Specific values pertaining to the properties vary depending on the

varieties of sugarcane. The length of the sugarcane is very important especially for the

topping mechanism mainly because improper topping may lead to low quality of cane to

be milled. The diameter of the sugarcane is not the same from top to bottom and varies

on every variety. It is an important matter to consider in determining the required and

suitable base cutter relating to the cutting force and energy requirement of the

sugarcane. Trashes of sugarcane are dried leaves and top leaves. It also vary

depending on the varieties and an important consideration in developing trashing and

topping mechanism. Row spacing of sugarcane vary per field. Mostly large farms are

the ones following row spacing. Some small farms do not consider row spacing because

they are up to maximizing the field. This property dictates the efficiency of a harvester. It

determines the harvesting capacity of harvesters. The row spacing relates to the

number of sugarcanes harvest in a length and width of a row (Bastian et al., 2014).
 Properties of sugarcane do not limit only on its physicality. Mechanical properties

are also need to be considered. The same with the physical properties, mechanical

properties also has something to do with the performance of different operations done in

harvesters. Such mechanical properties are resistance to bending, cutting, penetration,

and crushing. Designs for cutting and trashing operations of harvesters should consider

the bending resistance because sugarcane stalks tend to lean and bean during cutting

operations. Cutting resistance determines the necessary energy and forces to cut and

top the sugarcane. Penetration resistance is considered in harvesters for trashing

operation with cleaning mechanism so that components of the brushes used will not

damage the sugarcane. Conveying mechanism of harvesters need to take crushing

resistance into account so that sugarcanes will not be damage as it pass through series

of rollers (Bastian et al., 2014).

Harvesting Method

 Manual

Harvesting method involves cutting, trashing, topping, and loading of sugarcane.

Despite the existence of small and big tractors for harvesting, there are still farmers who

utilize shearing and cutting tools. These tools are commonly hand knives and sickles.

Such operations done manually post risk to the health of the workers (Gopi et al., 2018).

Prior to cutting, the sugarcane undergoes to a burning process to eliminate trash

content during harvest. In many countries burning process has been obstructed by their

government as it contributes to pollution. Such process also deteriorates the canes’

quality and sugar-yielding capacity. In terms of cutting, the quality of the cut depends on

the tools used and the skills and training of the workers performing such operation.

Sickles displayed greater productivity compared to other types of knives used except for

canes which undergo burning process. Topping of sugarcane should consider to proper

topping height as improperness may lead to additional transportation costs for high

topping height and low sugar yield for low topping height. Loading of sugarcane

depends upon the presence of loaders in the farms. Other farms have mechanical

loaders while others utilize manual loading (Rein et al., 2011).

Manual harvesting involves costs such as labor, transportation, and cost

allocated to the tools to be used. Operations involve in manual harvesting require

physical fitness as it is very exhausting tasks to do. Unfortunately, laborers in sugarcane

farms don’t receive the wages proportional to how tiring their work is (Ahmed et al.,

2013).

 Mechanized

Adaptation to mechanization of sugarcane harvesting pertains to joining the track

on worldwide trend in increasing production and less labor requirements. Mechanized

harvesters combine the operations such as cutting, topping, trashing, chopping, and

loading all in one system for continuous operations. Despite being a progressive and

elite country, mechanization in China is still low and there is no other way to promote

productivity in their sugar industry other than mechanization (Yinggang, 2013).

 . In the case of Egypt where mechanization is also of low level, the need to study,

discuss, and adapt to modernization of their sugarcane production is inevitable.

Harvesting system may be fully or semi-mechanized. Mechanical harvesting systems of

sugarcane are classified as whole stalk type harvesting and chopper type harvesting.

Whole stalk harvesters, from the name itself cut and transport whole stalk of sugarcane

whereas chopper harvesters apply full-mechanized harvesting system. When shifting

from manual to mechanized harvesting system, whole stalk harvesters is the best to

apply because it displays the same operations done by labors but in a mechanical way

and it is way cheaper than chopper harvesters. To choose between the two systems of

harvesting require analyzation because each has its own pros and cons. Developed

countries are already utilizing the chopper type of harvesting system (Mawla, 2014).

Green cane harvesting is the currently applied mode of harvesting which by the

name itself can be explained. It is a mode of harvesting wherein sugarcanes are

harvested naturally in its green color. The other mode which is obstructed by authorities

is the burnt cane harvesting which undergoes pre-harvesting process of burning the

sugarcane to reduce trash content but a lot of studies found out that this process

reduces the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcane. Whole stalk and chopper type

harvesters can be applied in green cane harvesting. The older designs of whole stalk

harvester have a simple construction and structure because it simply cuts and loads

and do not have trashing mechanism so farmers who used to adapt to this designs

need to undergo burning process to eliminate the trash and leaves of the sugarcane.

Designs adapting green cane harvesting where later on made wherein it involve both

cutting and trashing operations in one system. The most adapted type is the chopper
harvester which does all the operations from cutting, topping, trashing, chopping, and

loading. The only major disadvantage of this type is that chopped sugarcanes are prone

to deterioration of sugar-yielding capacity. To overcome this problem, a study found out

that sugar-yielding capacity of the chopped sugarcanes will not deteriorate 24 hours

after harvesting has been done and this implies to the need of scheduling transportation

(Ma et al., 2014).

Jain et al., (2013) designed and developed a sugarcane harvesting machine with

a simple construction. The materials and components are angle bars for the frame,

wheels, and angle grinder with toothed cutting wheel was made. The evaluated capacity

of the machine was 3.75 tons of sugarcane per hour (Jain et al., 2013).

Ashraf (2016) designed, developed, and evaluated the performance of a light

weight engine operated sugarcane harvester. It was evaluated with different

parameters. The harvester performed well with a field and operation capacity of 0.1005

hectares per hear and 5 man-hour per hectare and was cost-wise.

Arjun et al., (2018) fabricated a solar-powered sugarcane harvesting machine.

The machine made used of solar panels which served as an advocate to environmental

care. The machine was also developed to promote and encourage energy conservation

and usage renewable energy.

Cutting Mechanism

Harvesters make use of base cutters to cut down sugarcanes in ground level.

Base cutters are one of the factors that determine the quality of the cut. The commonly

used base cutters have five blades per disc. Base cutters has angle that should match

and be adjusted according to the field of operation whether it’s steep or flat surface

(Hijazi, 2016).

The right selection of base cutter blades is a big impact to the cut quality as it

affects the sugar-yielding capacity of the sugarcane. A lot of studies have been

circulating regarding the blades and blade configurations for base cutters. One factor

that affects the cutting ability of the blades is the dulling of the edges of the blades due

to wear and leads to poor cut quality. To further study about the right selection of base

cutters, four base cutter blade designs and configurations were tested and investigated.

These designs and configurations are typical straight blade, blade angled to 30 °,

toothed-edge blade, and a straight blade with laser-like cladding underside and all are

fitted to a sugarcane harvester of model John Deere 3520. Each designs and

configurations have different have different result with respect to the quality of cut, and

wear and each have pros and cons. The results summed up that the best selection is

the toothed-edge blade (Momin et al., 2017).

The factors that affect the base cutters are its configuration, discs, dynamics,

rotary and forward speed, angle, and height. Modern harvesters have base cutter discs

propelled through legs coupled to a gearbox. Harvesters used in Australia has base
cutter configuration of distance 600 to 620 mm between centers of the discs (Sugar

Research Australia Ltd., 2014).

Performance of existing base cutter blades of sugarcane harvesters Case-IH

7000 were studied and analyzed. It was found out that mechanical system failures of

the Case-IH 7000 harvesters are accountable to the base cutters. These failures occur

eventually because of the wear on the base cutters which result to blunting of sharp

edges (Reyes et al., 2018).

The mechanical harvesting system of cutting sugarcanes from the base is a

major factor to be taken seriously as it results to damage and losses done by the

system. This damages and losses are what it caused to the sugarcane negatively such

as damaged ratoons and root system. Five different blades and discs were studied to

figure out the most preferable with parameters being based on. Conclusion was made

that the titled cutting blades had the lowest damage caused and serrated blades with

normal discs had the best outcome pertaining to the cutting height (Toledo et al., 2018).

Topping Mechanism

The main purpose of the topper is to remove and cut the top leaves of the

sugarcane. The existing mechanism and types of toppers used in large mechanical

harvesters namely drum type and shredder type. Topping operation is a challenging

process because it is affected by the weather conditions and the natural stature of the

sugarcane. Drum type topper utilizes single set of blades while the shredder type topper

uses multiple blades. In terms of performance, drum type topper is the most effective.
The presence of multiple blades in shredder type topper makes it perform the topping

operation in a faster way but of higher power consumption (Sugar Research Australia

Ltd., 2014).

In other mechanical harvesters the topping operation is done together with

trashing operation which made use of high-speed rotating brush system. The system

removes the leaves by pushing, rubbing, and striking mechanism. Four different

orientations and arrangements of the brush type system was evaluated in terms of

efficiency and velocity. It was concluded that the cane bottom feed with brush rotating in

the same direction and cane top feed with brush rotating in opposite direction displayed

significant efficiency (Bastian et al., 2014).

Canse (2010) evaluated the performance of the topping operation using a

rotating dish applying different stripping and cutting materials such as tendon string, soft

wire, medium wire, and sling. The LK92-11 sugarcane variety was made as basis of the

evaluation. The results showed that the stripping materials should be considered as

improper and low quality materials entangles and clogs the rotating dish