Design of and Experiment with Secondary Cutting Equipment for Broccoli

Abstract

To solve the problem of large-sized blocks in single-process broccoli cutting, this paper proposes the design of broccoli secondary cutting equipment, in which the screening device with differential round belts, spiral attitude-adjusting mechanism, double-baffle conveyor belt, block-centering chute and disc-type cutter are analyzed and designed. According to the simulation of the motion of the blocks on the differential belts, the speeds of the two belts were 300 mm/s and 600 mm/s, respectively. The kinematic analysis of the spiral attitude-adjusting mechanism was performed, and the speed of the spiral rod was calculated to be greater than 64.5 rpm. The speed of the double-baffle conveyor belt was greater than 10.61 rpm to not obstruct the blocks and achieve diversion. A force analysis of the inclined centering chute was performed to reduce the damage during block conveying, and the inclination angle of the inclined centering chute was calculated to be greater than 27.02°. The parameters of the blade and its driving motor were calculated. Effective secondary cutting equipment for broccoli was thus developed. After secondary cutting, the size difference of two small florets obtained was between 0–8 mm, the success rate of cutting was 94.8%, and the efficiency was 47 pieces/min, which verified the reasonableness and feasibility of the second cutting equipment scheme.

Keywords

• broccoli florets
• second cutting
• screening device
• spiral adjustment
• double-baffle conveyor belt
• centering chute