Uji Variasi Putaran Gear Roda Pendorong Pada Alat Pengutip Brondolan Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Mekanis

Abstract

A mechanical oil palm loose fruit (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) picking tool is designed to collect loose palm fruits left behind in processing facilities or sorting areas. Using the tool in its previous state was quite tiring, as the operator had to move the 54.8 kg tool, which required considerable force. Therefore, this study tested variations of drive gear rotation so that the operator was only responsible for controlling the tool, while the translational motion of the tool was performed automatically. This study aimed to test the effect of different drive gear rotation speeds on the performance of a mechanical oil palm loose fruit collector. The rotation treatments tested were 60 RPM, 70 RPM, and 80 RPM. The observed performance parameters included effective field capacity, theoretical field capacity, percentage of collected materials, percentage of uncollected fruits and overall tool efficiency. The results showed that increasing the gear rotation speed improved the operational performance of the tool. The percentage of collected loose fruits increased from 90% at 60 RPM to 93% at 80 RPM. The effective field capacity also increased from 0.147 m²/s at 60 RPM to 0.172 m²/s at 80 RPM, while the tool efficiency improved significantly from 81.2% to 95% at the highest rotation speed. Although the DMRT analysis indicated no statistically significant differences among treatments in terms of effective capacity, the practical evaluation demonstrated that higher rotation speeds positively influenced field performance. Based on these findings, 80 RPM was considered the optimal rotation speed for operating the mechanical loose fruit collector. The economic analysis revealed a production cost of Rp244.996/Ha with a break-even point at 27 Ha/year, an NPV of Rp10.333.496,24/year, and an IRR of 42.9%, which exceeds the prevailing bank interest rate. Therefore, this tool was considered feasible and profitable for use in oil palm plantations. This study provides essential insights for the development and optimization of more efficient and field-adaptive mechanical tools for oil palm loose fruit.