DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF BATTERY DRIVE

MOTORIZED AGRICULTURAL WEEDER

DESIGN AND FABRICATION PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

AATHIL ALI A 962819114001

EBEN E SHEREENA 962819114016
JOEL SAVIO J 962819114019
RAJESH S 962819114302

ME 8682-DESIGN & FABRICATION PROJECT

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING NAGERCOIL

ANNA UNIVERSITY : CHENNAI 600 025
JUNE 2022
 ANNA UNIVERSITY: CHENNAI 600 025

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report “BATTERY DRIVE MOTORIZED

AGRICULTURE WEEDER” is the bonafide work of “AATHIL ALI A
(962819114001), EBEN E SHEREENA (962819114016), JOEL SAVIO J
(962819114019), RAJESH S (962819114302) who carried out the project work
under my supervision.

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE

Dr. N. SARAVANAN M.Tech, Ph.D. Dr. S. Suresh M.E, MBA, Ph.D.

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT SUPERVISOR

Assistant Professor Assistant Professor

Department of Mechanical Department of Mechanical
Engineering Engineering
University College Of Engineering, University College Of Engineering
Nagercoil Nagercoil

Submitted for the Project Viva-Voce Examination held on__________________

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO

ABSTRACT
LIST OF FIGURES
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 3
3. EXISTING WEEDERS
3.1 Dry Land Peg Weeder 6
7
3.2 Wheel Hand Hoe
8
3.3 Cono Weeder
3.4 Self-Propelled Power Weeder 9
3.5 Two Row Finger Type Paddy Rotary
Weeder 10
3.6 Battery Operated Portable Wetland 11
Wheeler
4. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATIONS AND
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY 12
12
4.1 Improvements
5. COMPONENTS AND CONSTRUCTION 14
5.1 Frame 14
14
5.2 DC Motor
5.3 Lever 15
5.4 Wheels 16
5.5 Battery 16
6. PROCEDURE AND WORKING 18
7. METHODOLOGY 20
7.1 Advantages 20
21
7.2 Future scope
8. Conclusion 22

References 23
 ABSTRACT
In the present-day agriculture, weed regulation in the farm lands is a
tedious process that needs more money and human effort. There are a number of
methods such as manually removing the unwanted plants by using traditional
hand tools or by spraying chemical weedicides which will kill the weeds or
using some mechanical equipments. The above-mentioned methods, the
mechanical weeding is mostly preferred due to its low operating cost and human
effort. Moreover, the efficiency of the mechanical weeding process is high
when compared with the other methods. In India, most of the people are
farmers. Agriculture is the backbone of India. Crores of rupees are spend in
agriculture. The yield of crops has drastically fallen down. One among the main
reasons are weeds. Even though there are losses due to insects, worms and also
diseased crops, losses due to weeds is high. Most commonly weeds are always
grown where they are not necessary. The weeder will only remove the
unwanted weed crops in the farm. Apart from the weeding operation, the
weeder can make the soil surface loose which will increase the porosity of the
soil. Hence the water percolation will be more and the moisture content of the
soil can also be maintained. Thus, the weeder will reduce the costs involved in
the maintenance of the farm lands. It will also reduce the human effort involved
in the weeding process. In our project work we have designed and constructed a
motorized agriculture weeder with a grass collector, to remove and collect the
weeds between crops. The agriculture weeding machines are accessible in the
market at different kinds. However, those are either expensive to farmers or
they require a talented individual to work on them. There are weeds and
undesired plants on the field which devours the nutritious components which
are planned for the harvest. Right now, we have planned a weeding vehicle.
This weeder works by a high torque dc motor that is controlled by a battery.
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO TITLE PAGE NO

3.1 Dry land peg weeder 6

3.2 Wheel Hand Hoe 7
3.3 Cono Weeder 8
3.4 Self-propelled power weeder 9
3.5 Two row finger type paddy
rotary weeder 9
3.6 Battery operated portable
wetland weeder 10
5.1 Frame 13
5.2 DC Motor 14
5.3 Levers 14
5.4 Wheels 15
5.5 Battery 15
5.6 Line Diagram of Agricultural
Weeder 16
6.1 Front View 18
6.2 Side View 18
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost we thank Lord Almighty for enabling us to

complete our project work successfully.
We express our sincere thanks to the respected Dr. R VELRAJ,
Vice Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai, who has been cheering
all our activities.
Our deep sense of gratitude to Dr. V. A. NAGARAJAN, Ph.D.,
Dean University College of Engineering, Nagercoil, for his support
and encouragement throughout this project work.
We express our sincere thanks to our Head of the Department,
Dr. N SARAVANAN, M.Tech, Ph.D, Assistant Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, and our supervisor
Dr. S. SURESH, ME., Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, for their motivation, inspiration and
everlasting encouragement for the progress and successful completion
of this project.
We express our sincere thanks to our Project Coordinator
Dr. M S STARVIN, Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Department of
Mechanical Engineering, and Dr, S SURESH, Ph.D, Assistant
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, for giving whole
hearted support in completing the project.
We thank all teaching and non-teaching staff members of
Department of Mechanical Engineering for their guidance.
We would like to thank our family and friends for their
assistance and backup in our project.
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

India is a developing country. It requires new inventions and

techniques for efficient developments. The economic developments in
the agricultural sector of India have quite more opportunities for
research to develop effective machines for the betterment of the
farmers. The weeds are one of the reasons for the failure of crop
production and they should be controlled. There are various methods
used in the process and every single method has its benefits and
drawbacks. Mechanical weeding is widely used because of its
benefits. The demand for quality food is very huge in the market.
Nowadays, people are ready to pay extra amount if the quality is
assured.

Weeds are the plants that are designated as unwanted plants or

not desired plants. These plants are in the form of small herbs that
tend to reduce the productivity of the farm lands. These weeds or
unwanted plants tend to absorb the nutrients that are supplied to the
crops and thereby affecting the growth of the main crops drastically.
So, it becomes the necessary activity to control the growth of these
unwanted plants in the farm lands. Some examples of the weed plants
are Cynodon ductylon, Cenchrus ciliaris, Eleusine indica, etc., In
other words weeds are plants that grow at times when we want other
plants or crops to grow in the desired place and at desired time. It is a
common fact that all weed plants are unwanted plants but all the
unwanted plants are not weeds. These plants are tending to curb the
utilization of the farm lands and the water resources that would
seriously affect the agricultural welfare.To solve this problem, we
have fabricated a weed removing machine. The existing weeders are

1
operated by using engine. Even though they are efficient, they are
unaffordable and produce so much pollution to the environment.

2
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Subrata Kr. Mandal al. (2011) This paper presented there is scope
for these power tillers to be used as seed bed preparation and inter
culture operation in wide spaced row crops like cotton and sugarcane.
In order to assess the performance of lightweight power tiller, one
such model was evaluated at Central Mechanical Engineering
Research Institute, Durgapur under various soil conditions. The model
was extensively used for seed bed preparation, inter culture operation,
etc. This paper presented the results of the study.

Mohammad MuneerUz Zaman (2015) This paper helps to design a

machine which would uproot the weeds and unwanted crops from the
field completely. Similarly, grass cutter can also be utilized for
cutting off the crops as it has nylon rope tightened at the end of it,
which expands outwards and rotates at a high speed as the power is
given. Basically, two different machines are connected together, one
is a rotary tiller and the other one is a grass cutter. Merging two
machines to work together as a single unit gives out the output as we
expect.

Bernardo D Radeo et al (1993) In this paper, mounting the rotor

assembly at the rear end of the power tiller and attaching a glass fibre
float underneath the chasis solved the problems such as steering

3
difficulty and machine weight imbalance encountered in the front-
mounted rotor assembly. Result showed that bolt on attachment has
shown great potential even in extreme soil conditions.

Sirisak Chertkiattipol (2008) This paper studies the performance of

rotary power tiller. Rotary tiller is advantageous over the conventional
equipments due to the direct application in various aspects. Tool
rotating around a horizontal transverse axis achieves both plowing
and harrowing on the field. The soil working blades provide forward
thrust. There are the three types of rotary blades, namely Japanese C-
shaped blade, European L-shaped blade and European C- shaped
blade. This type of rotary tiller attached behind two-wheel tractor and
this arrangement of rotary blades on rotor shaft and soil-cutting
pattern of rotor tiller are of great advantage.

Shridhar H S (2013) This paper elaborates on the development of a

single wheel multi use weeder which is manually operated. This
weeder performs only normal weeding. It can only cut small size
weeds and cannot work where stones and other obstacles are present.
[3]. Weed removal is one of the major activities in agriculture.
Chemical method of weed control is more predominent than manual
and mechanical methods. However, its adverse effects on the
environment are making farmers to consider and accept mechanical
methods of weed control. Chemical weeding is the most extensively
used method of weed removal. But these chemicals used for weeding
are harmful to living organisms and are toxic in nature. Research has

4
been carried out to use some conventional methods of weeding and
for the identification of problems in weeding.

Md. Aqib Naqu et. al Soil tiller and weeder is one of the farm
mechanization methods in promoting soil tiller and weeders,
considering the fact that the majority of farmers are having small
land. It reduces human effort.

Rajapakse N. et. al Lack of man power has been identified as one of

the major problems for the sustainability of the paddy industry. Hence
transplanters and seeders were well developed as a step for
mechanization.

Philip Oguntunde and Olawale John Olukunl et. al The operations

involved in the crop production cycle include land clearing, land
forming, land leveling, tillage, crop establishment, harvesting and
post harvest operations. Crop establishment is necessary to eliminate
the effect of weeds.

5
 CHAPTER 3

EXISTING WEEDERS

3.1 DRY LAND PEG WEEDER

This weeder consists of a roller which has two mild steel discs
joined by mild steel rods as shown in figure 3.1. The small pegs are
welded on the rods. The complete roller assembly is made of mild
steel. The V shaped blade follows the roller assembly and is mounted
on the arms. The height of the blade can be adjusted according to the
working depth. For removing weeds, it is repeatedly pushed and
pulled in between the crop rows in the standing position. The blade in
the push mode penetrates into the soil and uproots the weeds.

DRAWBACKS

 Entangling of weeds in the V-shaped blade affects the weeding

efficiency.
 It also increases the labour requirements.

Figure 3.1 Dry Land Peg Weeder

6
3.2 WHEEL HAND HOE

It is a long-handled tool operated by pushing and pulling action.

The number of wheels varies from one to two and the diameter is
depends upon the design. The frame has provisions to work in
different types of soil. It can be operated by an individual. All the
working component of tool is made from medium carbon steel. For
operation the working depth of a tool and the height can be adjusted
as shown in Figure 3.2. It is operated by repeated push-pull action.

DRAWBACKS

 The damage to the crop is high while weeding, due to high

depth cut.
 This weeder easily wears out during operation.

Figure 3.2 Wheel Hand Hoe

3.3 CONO WEEDER
The weeder consists of two rotors, float, frame, and handle as
shown in Figure 3.3. The rotors are mounted in tandem with opposite
orientation. The float, rotors and handle are joined to the frame. The
float controls the working depth. The orientation of a rotor create a
7
back and forth movement in the top three centimeters of the soil and
uproots the weed.
DRAWBACKS

 This weeder requires strength to operate and is difficult for

farmers with less energy because it requires much energy and
force.
 The aeration to the root zone is very poor.

Figure 3.3 Cono Weeder

3.4 SELF-PROPELLED POWER WEEDER
A diesel engine operates the weeder. The engine power is
transmitted to ground wheels through a V belt pulley. A tail wheel is
provided at the rear to maintain the operated depth. Weeding is done
by rotary weeding attachments. The rotary weeder consists of three
rows of discs mounted with six numbers of curved blades in opposite
directions alternatively in each disc as shown in Figure 3.4. These
blades when rotating, enable cutting a tilling the soil.
DRAWBACKS

 This weeder is a bit more technical to build as it requires a

design.
 These tools require very precise steering for row tracking.

8
  It cannot perform heavy duty, where the weed is too difficult to
uproot on a large scale.

Figure 3.4 Self-Propelled Power Weeder

3.5 TWO ROW FINGER TYPE PADDY ROTARY WEEDER
An individual person can operate the unit continuously. By push
and pull action, the weeds are buried and the soil is aerated. The row
spacing can be adjusted from 20 cm to 25 cm as shown in Figure 3.5.
DRAWBACKS

 This weeder gives low efficiency with respect to the depth of the
cut.
 The field efficiency is also low and requires more human efforts
to perform well.

Figure 3.5 Two Row Finger Type Paddy Rotary Weeder

9
3.6 BATTERY OPERATED PORTABLE WETLAND
WEEDER
It is easy to operate compared to other weeders as shown in
Figure 3.6. It can be operated without any drudgery. This weeder is
very effective as it requires fueling.
DRAWBACKS

 This weeder can impose backache for anyone tall.

 It requires fueling which increases the cost of operation.

Figure 3.6 Battery operated portable wetland weeder

10
 CHAPTER 4

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND OBJECTIVES

 The cost involved in the process of weeding and weed control is
high.
 The crops undergo heavy damage when the farmers remove the
weeds in the farms.
 The weeding process is highly time consuming.
 Weeding requires additional number of labours.
 The process of weeding requires heavy human efforts.
 Manual weeding only removes the unwanted plants. It does not
loosen the soil, which is highly advantageous for farming.
 The previously existing weeders are designed to perform one
operation at a time. Multi-purpose weeders are not predominant.
 The previously existing weeders are highly expensive and
unaffordable to most of the common people.
 Chemical methods of weeding is predominant than manual and
mechanical methods. However, this affects the ecosystem.
 Thermal weeders use flames which are harmful for the
environment and the microbionts in the soil.
 The existing weeders has blades which trims the surface of the
weeds. It does not uproot the weeds completely.
4.1 Improvements

 The single-axis motor is converted to dual-axis motor

 The collection of waste materials and weeds are done at the
bottom of the weeder.
 To avoid pollution, a battery motorized weeder is used.

11
  The blades of the weeders are modified such that the weeds are
uprooted completely from the soil, instead of getting trimmed.
 Thermal weeders are avoided at all costs, as it causes great harm
to the ecosystem.
 The soil in the place of weeding is not eradicated much like
other weeders and weeding tools.
OBJECTIVES

 To construct and test the motorized agriculture weeder.

 To provide the linear and vertical height adjusting slider to
facilitate the operator to adjust the frame as per its height.
 To develop a mechanical equipment to remove the weed plants
in the farms without causing any damage to the crop especially
the tubers.
 To reduce the requirement of the additional or a greater number
of labours needed for the weeding process in the job.
 To minimize the time involved in the weeding process.
 To design an equipment that reduces the human effort in
weeding, reducing the need of labours.
 To move the equipment as cost effective and in an affordable
price.
 To make a weeder for the farm that will not only remove the
unwanted plants but also loosen the soil and increases the
porosity to help the water percolation in order to maintain the
moisture content.

12
 CHAPTER 5

COMPONENTS AND CONSTRUCTION

5.1 FRAME

In this motorized agricultural weeder, the frame is made up of hollow

square pipes of mild steel, a Dc motor, wheels, grass collector and the battery
mounted on it as shown in Figure 5.1. The motor is mounted at the front end of
the body and the handle is connected at the rear end of the body. The cutting
edge is connected to the motor at the front side.

Figure 5.1 Frame

5.2 DC MOTOR
A 12 volts Dc motor as shown in Figure 5.2 is used to run the lever
mechanism. It takes the power from a battery. One of the modifications we have
added is the single axis DC Motor is converted to dual-axis motor.

13
 Figure 5.2 DC Motor

5.3 LEVERS

There should be a medium to transfer the forces. So, the second class
lever is attached to the motor as shown in Figure 5.3. Bucket-shaped plates are
welded at the end of levers to dig into the soil and remove the weeds.

Figure 5.3 Levers

5.4 WHEELS

Two wheels shown in Figure 5.4 are mounted at bottom of the frame, to
support and to move in required directions.

14
 Figure 5.4 Wheels
5.5 BATTERY

12volts battery as shown in Figure 5.5 is used to supply the power to the
motor. It is placed in between the handle and the motor. By placing this at
that particular place, we can reduce the burden to the operator

Figure 5.5 Battery

CONSTRUCTION

1. The mounting of motor is done on the frame and the chasis is mounted on
the wheel. Then the motor is assembled on the chasis by using nut, bolt
and by weld.
2. Blades are cut by grinding cutter and the bending of blade is done
manually. These blades are attached with the frame by adjusting the
setting.

15
 3. Two wheels are fitted below the wiper motor by nut and bolt.
4. Square pipe is used for the handles with required dimensions and the
switch is fitted on handle and connected to the battery by using wire.
5. Switch and electrical connections are made for on or off of the engine.
The switch is mounted on the handle of the machine.

LINE DIAGRAM

Figure 5.6 Line Diagram of Agricultural Weeder.

16
 CHAPTER 6

PROCEDURE AND WORKING

The problems of agriculture weeders are that they can’t be easily used in
the cultivated land, as there are no special machines available in the field. The
weed elimination is done by human effort. It can be reduced in our design of the
machine. It will minimize the human effort and be done at low cost. The design
of distance between the two wheels is adjustable with respect to our
requirements. The horizontal adjustments are mainly provided for placing the
blades in certain distance with one another. The blade distance mainly depends
on plant size and age. In the top of the wheel shaft, a diesel engine is provided
for rotating the blades. The distance is adjustable but the engine is fixed at that
same point of contact. The selection of diesel engine is only for load purpose.
The rotary blades are rotated with respect to given power and speed. The soil
level also decides the speed of the machine. The engine power is directly
connected to the primary shaft and the primary shaft is connected to the
secondary shaft. The secondary shaft is coupled with the cam shape shaft and
the cam shape edges are connected with the blades. The rotary motion of cam
shape shaft is transmitted to blades by using chain drives. The handles are
provided for turning the direction of the machine. The forward direction
movement of the machine is done on the wheel shaft, which is connected to the
engine. The blades are rotated in clockwise direction and the weed is removed
perfectly. The small thickness of the wheels can be rotated at any plants
between the cultivated lands and it does not affect the plants.

17
 WORKING

1. Initially start the motor with the help of on or off switch mounted on the
handle. The wiper motor is used.
2. The blades are used for the forward movement of the machine.
3. Battery is used to transmit power from motor to the intermediate shaft.
4. The blades are mounted on the front side of the machine. When blades
start rotating, forward motion occurs.
5. Hence weeding is done with less effort and less cost.

Figure 6.1 Front View Figure 6.2 Side View

18
 CHAPTER 7

METHODOLOGY

 Initially, the frame was constructed by using mild steel hollow square
pipes. By welding these square hollow pipes we bring a shape for the
agriculture welder.
 By using nuts and clamps, the Dc motor is mounted at the front end of the
frame.
 For easy holding purpose, square pipe is welded at the rear end of the
frame. A switch is provided on the handle.
 To make this welder comfortable and friendly, sliders are constructed and
introduced for easy height and length adjustments based on the height of
the operator.
 Two wheels are attached to the frame for the easy movement in a
particular direction.
 The battery is mounted between the handle and the motor to reduce the
burden on the operator. Battery is mounted at the center or in between the
handle and the motor.
 Second class levers are attached to the motor for easy removing of weede

7.1 ADVANTAGES

 Precision of operation.
 Improvement of work environment.
 Enhancement of safety.
 Reduction of drudgery of labour.
 Reduction of loss of crops and food products.
19
  Increased productivity of land.
 Increased economic return to farmers.
 The weeder is low cost and affordable.
 The labour costs in the farm are reduced.
 It does not cause any damage to the crops.
 It reduces the time consumption in the weeding process.
 The equipment is light weighted and portable.
 The materials used are easily available and can be purchased easily.

7.2 FUTURE SCOPE

 Usage of new material increases the performance of the weeder.

 The farmers need alternatives for weed control due to the desire to reduce
chemical use and production costs.
 The weeder can be equipped with a power source such as an electric
motor to eliminate the input power that is to be given by the worker.
 The equipment can be converted as a small seed sower by attaching
suitable mechanisms.

20
 CHAPTER 8

CONCLUSION

Agricultural development plays an important role in rural poverty

reduction. Farmers generally expressed the effective weed control
measures to control the growth of weeds. The effort required to develop a
weeder meets the various demands of the farmers. Looking to the
problems and to give a new direction to the weeding operation a weeder
is designed. The efficiency of the weeder should be satisfactory. It should
be easy to operate and faster than the traditional method of removing
weeds. The direction of the weeder is changed easily. Also it is easy to be
handled by any person because of its slider adjustments according to the
operator’s height. It produces less noise compare to other existing
weeders. Less labour is required and is more economical than usual hand
weeding. Fuel is not used, hence the maintenance cost is very less. The
cost of weeding is reduced to one-third of the corresponding cost by
manual labourers. The fabrication is done with locally available and
cheap materials. Here comes the relevance of mechanised weeding,
which significantly improves weeding efficiency as well as the quality of
weeding. The developed power weeder was tested at different field
condition and on the basis of those results obtained, the overall
performance of the design battery drive weeder was satisfactory.

21
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