Design and Development of a High Capacity Multi Fruit Grader for Commercial Applications

Abstract

A commercial scale multi fruit grader suitable for grading different types of spherical shaped fruit was designed and developed. The fruit grader consisted of a grading unit, horizontal belt conveyor and feeding unit. The grader has provision to separate fruits into five grades by adjusting flap spacing between 30 and 145 mm. The grader is operated by a 0.74 kW single phase motor. This grader was installed in a farm and evaluated for grading citrus, apple, sweet lemon and orange fruits for two seasons. About 1000 tonnes of fruits were graded using this grader. The overall grading efficiency of the grader was 93-96 % for citrus, apple, sweet lemon and orange fruits. The capacity of the grader was 5 t/h at grading conveyor speed of 7 m/minute and there was no damage to the fruits while grading. The cost of the grader is Rs. 1 lakh. The cost of operation and energy consumption of the grader is Rs. 0.30/kg and 0.25 kW/t, respectively. This fruit grader has the advantages of high capacity, low energy consumption, low cost, minimal handling and tumbling of the fruits. The breakeven for the grader is worked out as 500 tonnes of fruits. It is most suited for commercial application