Design and Development of Cotton Seed Sorting Machine

DOI: 10.14416/j.ind.tech.2024.12.004

Abstract

This research was conducted with the objective of designing and developing a cotton seed sorting machine and assess its efficiency for a weaving group in Ban Rai District, Uthai Thani Province.     The aim was to solve the problem of separating cotton seeds from cotton fibers more quickly while meeting the required quantity. The designed cotton seed sorting machine has overall dimensions of approximately 500 x 280 x 410 millimeters, and the tools used in its development include the machine frame set, seed filter set, saw blade set, cotton brush set, cotton rotation aid set, cotton holder set, power transmission set, power source set, and control system set. The test results on the performance and efficiency of the cotton seed sorting showed that the machine was able to separate 25 grams of cotton seeds from cotton fibers of two different varieties within 1 minute, with no broken seeds mixed in with the cotton fibers. In comparison with other commercially available cotton seed sorting machines,    as well as traditional methods like hiring cotton ginning or manual separation, this machine proved to be the most cost-effective. The payback period is approximately 5 months and 1 day, and the breakeven point is 1,816 kilograms per year, with an operating cost of 33.4 baht per kilogram.