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Design and optimization of end-effector for automatic plug seedling transplanter in greenhouses

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  2015 ASABE Annual International Meeting  152183784.(doi:10.13031/aim.20152183784)
Authors:   Zhuohua Jiang, Yang Hu, Huanyu Jiang, Junhua Tong
Keywords:   Automatic transplanter, end-effector, greenhouses, seedling plug.

Abstract. With the popularization of seedling nursery, automatic transplanters become very important in greenhouses. Design of end-effector is a key technology for transplanting seedling plug. An efficient end-effector with only one drive cylinder was designed. This end-effector could clamp the plug the same time with the four needles penetrating into the nutritional growth media. The depth into media and the verticality of needles could be adjusted conveniently for different seedling trays. The parameters were optimized based on Visual Basic. A virtual prototype model was established based on the obtained optimal parameters and simulated in ADAMS 2012. The end-effector was verified to be efficient with 98% success rate and 22% harm rate. Seedling plugs in trays with a peat: vermiculite: perlite mixture (6:3:1, v/v/v), big growth and about 76.7% moisture content are more suitable for transplanting. And seedlings with slender stem or not in the center of the cell were more vulnerable.

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