A Novel Semiautomatic Flesh Peeling and Seed Removing Mechanism for Dried Longan

Cheng-Han Li, Yu-Ting Hsu, Chun-Hung Hsieh and Ching-Wei Cheng
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Cheng-Han Li: Department of Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Yu-Ting Hsu: Department of Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Chun-Hung Hsieh: Department of Information Management, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung 404, Taiwan
Ching-Wei Cheng: College of Intelligence, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung 404, Taiwan

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Longans, which are produced in tropical countries, are rich in nutrients and high in commercial value. To extend their shelf life, fresh longans are roasted to dry them out. For the convenience of cooking applications, the dried longan pulp is peeled and seeded beforehand. Presently, this is done manually; thus, this research aims to automate this process. A cutting tool with a serrated bending angle is used to cut the dried longan pulp, and then the longan is fixed by a lifting mechanism. The pulp is breached with a cutting tool and this breach is pushed up against a 6 mm hole in the silicone soft plate of the lifting mechanism to separate out the seed by squeezing. Commercially available dried longans are used in this experiment. The cutting surface width of the cutter designed in this study is 20 mm, and the serration bending angle is 30°. This cutter operates at a speed of 29 cm/s on dried longan pulp, attaining a success rate of 85%. The lifting mechanism also presented in this study fixes the dried longan and uses a squeezing motion to separate the flesh from the seed with a silicone soft plate. Here, a lifting speed of 28 mm/s achieves the highest rate of success at peeling, and the success rate of pulp-and-seed separation can reach 86.7%.

Keywords: dried longan; lifting mechanism; silicone soft plate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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