Performance Comparison of Automatic Para Rubber Tapping Machine and Jeh-bong Knife
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Abstract
The research studied the tapping performances of the automatic para rubber tapping machine and jeh-bong tapping knife by using the RRIM 600 clone rubber trees at 7 years of age in Surat-thani province. The jeh-bong tapping used s/3 d1 3d/4 system. The obtained average values of; tapping depth was 5.6 mm, tapping distance was 17 cm, bark consumption was 1.9 mm/tapping or 26.5 cm/year. The tapping rate of jeh-bong knife was 0.8 cm/s. The machine tapping performance was then compared to that of the jeh-bong knife tapping. Its bark consumption was 2.8 mm/tapping which was similar to that of the knife. Its tapping speed was 0.24 cm/s which was slower than the knife. Its tapping depth and tapping distance were 3.0 mm and 9.0 cm and these values were less than that of the knife. Based on the obtained tapping performance, there is a need to improve the machine which is too heavy. The excessive weight demanded a high power from the motor driving the vertical motion and slowed down the blade. A light and strong material shall be used. The inconsistent tapping degree was due to the varying distances between the guiding rail and the tree trunk, consequently, it affected the tapping depth and consistency of the tapping. A blade carrier which can control its distance from the tree trunk or with an adjustable tapping degree shall be applied.
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References
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