The Kimbolton Carrot-Crowning Machine
Requirements
Two machines were built together, second one at rear (click to enlarge)
Front roller about to go in
(click to enlarge)
Cutting discs, rollers and jacks mounted in frames (click to enlarge)
• The machine must cut the carrots cleanly.
• No cracking, splitting, crushing, bruising, etc. allowed. (Ideally, the carrot should look like its been crowned by a chef). The amount removed must be adjustable, to suit the processors requirements. Within quite close limits, all the carrots must be equally trimmed. This is a very difficult requirement. The cut off tops must be moved away from the bed (into the trenches between beds) so that they are not picked up by the harvester following behind. Any greenery included with the crop will cause problems at the factory.
• The machine must operate with carrots grown in beds (4 to 6 parallel rows along the bed) or ridges (like potatoes) 2 rows per ridge.
• It must be light enough to be pulled by a medium-sized tractor, and consume no more power than such a tractor can supply via the power-take-off shaft.
• One man operation is essential.
• The cutting mechanism must work above and below ground level. Often the carrot tops start below ground level.
• The machine must be robust - It is required to work in very bad conditions : cold, wet, muddy, and will sometimes run into hidden obstructions, like drains, stones, and old posts.
• It must be easy to repair – ideally, the operator, rather than a mechanic, should be able to repair all but the most serious damage. Also, specialised items, such as bearings, should be obtainable locally (tractor agents, stock and station agents) and breakage should be fixable by the local garage or farm workshop.
• The machine must be easy to maintain – they may be stored for months between harvests, and need to be readied for use quickly.
• It must be easy to transport – often the machine is hired to many farmers over the harvesting season, who may be some distance apart. Most farmers and contractors have above averagely strong trailers, so this was a good target to aim for.
• It must be affordable – carrots are not a high value crop, such as kiwifruit or asparagus. Consequently there is a limit to how much technology you can afford, to achieve a desired result. The design philosophy used by the developers goes a long way to satisfying this requirement.
