The start of the week has not been good to me. Yesterday, I fell very ill and can't even had dinner last night. I had severe body pain and headache. I just took a rest and took also some medicine. Tonight, I can't properly think of a topic I can share with you, but upon organizing my files, I found my project last July, 2021 on my files. I've decided to share it with you too.
Coconut Copra Deshelling Machine
Introduction
Coconut, Cocos nucifera L., is a tree that is cultivated for its multiple utilities, mainly for its nutritional and medicinal values. The various products of coconut include tender coconut water, copra, coconut oil, raw kernel, coconut cake, coconut toddy, coconut shell and wood based products, coconut leaves, coir pith etc. All of its part are used in some way or another in the daily life of the people in the traditional coconut growing areas. It is the unique source of various natural products for the development of medicines against various diseases and for the development of industrial products.
One of its products include copra. Copra is used as a raw material of coconut oil and exported commodity. In 2012, the Philippines exported more than 1.5-million metric tons of copra, coconut oil, copra meal, desiccated coconut, coco shell charcoal, and activated carbon and coco chemicals, a 1.49 per cent increase compared to the volume exported in 2011. In 1989, it produced 11.8 million tons and at the time was the second largest producer but has since surpassed Indonesia. In 1989, coconut products, coconut oil, copra (dried coconut), and desiccated coconut accounted for approximately 6.7 percent of Philippine exports. By 1995, the production of coconut in the Philippines had experienced a 6.5% annual growth and later surpassed Indonesia in total output in the world.
Coconut production have been in the food industry for about decades. As time goes by, machines are invented, fully and semi mechanized, that made production a lot easier and faster. It is undeniably proven that a more modernized technology improves the production and quality of products. Alongside with the various products of coconut is the copra, the dried coconut kernels from which oil is obtained.
For years, deshelling coconut to obtain copra was done manually, then improved to a semi-mechanized machine for an easier way of deshelling. However, the demand for coconut production continues to rise so we need advanced machines that can keep up with the increasing demands.
What is a coconut copra-deshelling machine?
Coconut copra deshelling machine is an innovative idea of the normal deshelling machine, however, this is a fully-mechanized machine. It was designed to remove the copra from the coconut shell after it has undergone with some procedures such as smoke drying, sun drying, or kiln drying.
Description of the Machine
The Coconut Copra Deshelling machine is made up of the following 5 major units namely the: (1) Deshelling drum, (2) discharging unit, (3) supporting unit, (4) driving unit and (5) auxiliary unit.
1. Deshelling Drum
Deshelling drum is the part of the machine where the coconut copra are loaded. It is made of bars with the length of 90 centimeters. The drum is made up of 24 bars. It is assembled in the upper middle, which is the main component of the machine.
2. Discharging Unit
Discharging unit is the part of the machine attached to the deshelling drum. It has the dimension of 40 cm x 13.2 cm. This unit is like an opening in the deshelling unit.
3. Supporting Unit
It is the overall support (frame and base) of the machine made of angle bars and stainless sheet. It is a structure made for admitting, enclosing, or supporting the entire load of the machine.
3.1 Frame. Frame has the dimension of 148.8 cm x 77.0 cm that supports the main and other components of the machine.
3.2 Base. Base has the dimension of 100.2 cm x 77.0 cm, which serves as the bottom support of the machine’s entire body. It supports the weight of the machine and lessens the vibration while on operation.
4. Driving Unit
Driving unit serves as the prime mover of the machine, powered by a 2-hp motor.
4.1 Speed Reducer. Speed reducer is a gear train attached between the motor and the machinery that is used to reduce the speed with which the power is transmitted.
5. Auxiliary Unit
The machine is equipped with lockable wheels for ease of transport.
Operation of the Machine
To fully understand how this machine works, a simple flowchart is presented below:
Here are the different views of the machine.
Perspective view
Front View
Left and right View
Top view
Bottom view
I came up with this idea because I have experienced it myself - deshelling copra manually. We have our own coconut farm and we usually use manual operation.
I have tried to create a 3D version of the machine through sketchup pro 2020 but it's not yet official since it's just an estimate. I hope I can pursue it soon. :)
All the images used are personally owned. ❤
OMG. Take care of yourself. Agaoan mo na bago madagdagan ng synptoms yan. Drink lots of water, and vitamin C. Stay safe.