Automation of a prototype for cutting, sorting and bundling of SRC crops for planting purposes

This paper presents the design, implementation and testing of the automation component for a prototype machinery destined for cutting, sorting and bundling of harvested SRC crops for planting purposes. The device has been developed under the name Rod Picker and is the result of collaboration between six partners from four different countries. The Rod Picker project includes mechanical, automation, hydraulics and sensor measurement concepts. It operates according to conditions imposed by the beneficiaries - Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) farm owners, agricultural machinery and energy crops species producers. Freshly harvested material is cut (obeying diameter and length restrictions), sorted and bundled into packages ready for distribution. The process is automated, requiring little intervention on behalf of the operator. The cutting accuracy and speed of execution are two features which underline the efficiency of this device when compared against manual rod processing methods. Measurement errors of under ±2% are obtained between what the machine indicates and the manually calculated length. Functionality tests performed over several weeks, in both laboratory and industrial conditions, confirm that this system was properly designed and implemented. Regarding the economical evaluation the conclusion is that working with this machinery can decrease overall processing costs approximately five times when compared to manual labor.