Design and Manufacture of a Portable Grass Chopping Machine Equipped with a Conveyor System to Enhance Livestock Feed Efficiency

Abstract

Manual chopping of forage crops is time-consuming and yields inconsistent particle sizes, which leads to livestock sorting behavior and significant feed waste. This study aimed to design, manufacture, and evaluate a portable grass chopping machine integrated with an automatic conveyor system to enhance livestock feed production efficiency. The machine features a 4x4 cm angle iron frame, a 5.5 HP Tesla engine, four High-Speed Steel (HSS) blades, and a 120 cm PVC conveyor belt loop. Performance tests utilized three initial no-load speeds of 1,537 RPM, 2,454 RPM, and 3,543 RPM to analyze rotation drops from shock loads, processing capacity, and mechanical efficiency. Results indicated that optimal performance was achieved at 3,543 RPM. Under this condition, the flywheel effect minimized the rotation drop to 3,453 RPM, yielding the highest mechanical efficiency of 97.45%. This speed achieved a production capacity of 9.605 kg/minute, consuming 1.5 Liters/hour. High rotational speed and sharp HSS blades produced uniform grass clippings ranging from 5 mm to 20 mm. This short length improves feed palatability and facilitates easier compacting during anaerobic fermented silage production. Overall, the portable conveyor-system chopper proved highly effective in reducing labor and multiplying production efficiency.