Future Work
The team has strived over the past year to deliver an excellent product that can be utilized to increase production for the Cappadona family and their ranch. We hope that this product doesn’t end here though. We believe that through future work that other future teams will do with this product can revolutionize the harvesting industry for certain agricultural goods. Here are some points of interest the team thinks will be good for future teams to investigate.
Nozzle
- Oscillating flow
- Look into how to make the flow turn on and off to see if it will cause more bean excitation
- Back Pressure
- Look more into the issue of backpressure and the loading of the fan to see if you can maximize the airflow coming out of the nozzle.
- Versatility
- Explore the possibility of different nozzle attachments using thread mounting for wider applications of the product.
Blower
- Size and Power
- We suggest trying to investigate or developing more blowers that have the same, or greater output, but at a smaller size and power draw.
- Power
- We need a way to power the blower in the field. Ideas like a car battery and car invertor where thrown around but never fully investigated.
Frame
- Weight
- Source new materials to see if you can reduce the weight of the frame
- Structural integrity
- Considering the weight of the system, see if you can optimize the strength to weight to ensure robustness but also not comprise durability.
Pole
- Something New?
- The team suggests exploring new ways of getting the nozzle apparatus to the desired height the user specifies. Maybe attach it to a drone or pulley system?
Harvesting
- Efficiency
- One of the things we struggled to do as a team was finding a creative way of catching the beans once they fall. We developed the tarp, but feel like future work can include the sorting of spoiled beans from fresh beans as well as other processing tasks.
References
[1]Guzman, C., Garza, V., Ramos, S., and Salinas, A. (2020). “TEAM 3: Mesquite Bean Harvester (Index Page).” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department , <https://student.utrgv.edu/stephanie.ramos01/> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[2]Guzman, C., Garza, V., Ramos, S., and Salinas, A. (2020). “TEAM 3: Mesquite Bean Harvester.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/stephanie.ramos01/designp.html> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[3]Silva, P., Martinez, M., Huerta, B., and Sanchez, J. (2021). “TEAM 9: Design of a Mechanical Mesquite Bean Harvester Index Page.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/miguel.martinez09/Index1.htm> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[4]Silva, P., Martinez, M., Huerta, B., and Sanchez, J. (2021). “TEAM 9: Design of a Mechanical Mesquite Bean Harvester Design Process Page.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/miguel.martinez09/DesignP.htm> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[5]Babanatsas, T., Galvan, D. O., Babanatis Merce, R. M., Borzan, M., Radu, I., and Maris, S. A. (2018). “Harvesting olive tree using accurate vibrations generated by a robotic system.” iop science, IOP Publishing, <https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/393/1/012083/pdf> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[6]Prosopis Species, Honey Mesquite Prosopis juliflora. (2008). Dave's Garden.
[7]Greg, F. (2019). “Mesquite Bean Harvesting It’s (Almost) Time To Pick Mesquite.” The Urban Farm, <https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/28/mesquite-harvesting/> (Mar. 1, 2022).
[8]“Mesquite Beans and How to Harvest and Use Them.” (2020). Preparedness Advice, <https://preparednessadvice.com/mesquite-beans-harvest-use/> (Mar. 1, 2022).
[9]Gerndon, C. (2022). “Everything Mesquite.” Native Seeds , <https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/everything-mesquite> (Mar. 15, 2022).
[10]Pluto, L. (2013). “Passive Harvesting for Mesquite Pods to be Introduced.” University of Arizona News, University of Arizona, <https://news.arizona.edu/blog/passive-harvesting-mesquite-pods-be-introduced> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[11]Hudes, K. (2018). “Texas Baker Rekindles Interest In The Mysterious Mesquite Bean.” The Salt Whats's on your plate, <https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/10/04/649311562/austin-baker-rekindles-interest-in-the-mysterious-mesquite-bean> (Feb. 16, 2022).
[2]Guzman, C., Garza, V., Ramos, S., and Salinas, A. (2020). “TEAM 3: Mesquite Bean Harvester.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/stephanie.ramos01/designp.html> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[3]Silva, P., Martinez, M., Huerta, B., and Sanchez, J. (2021). “TEAM 9: Design of a Mechanical Mesquite Bean Harvester Index Page.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/miguel.martinez09/Index1.htm> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[4]Silva, P., Martinez, M., Huerta, B., and Sanchez, J. (2021). “TEAM 9: Design of a Mechanical Mesquite Bean Harvester Design Process Page.” Student UTRGV, University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley Mechanical Engineering Department, <https://student.utrgv.edu/miguel.martinez09/DesignP.htm> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[5]Babanatsas, T., Galvan, D. O., Babanatis Merce, R. M., Borzan, M., Radu, I., and Maris, S. A. (2018). “Harvesting olive tree using accurate vibrations generated by a robotic system.” iop science, IOP Publishing, <https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/393/1/012083/pdf> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[6]Prosopis Species, Honey Mesquite Prosopis juliflora. (2008). Dave's Garden.
[7]Greg, F. (2019). “Mesquite Bean Harvesting It’s (Almost) Time To Pick Mesquite.” The Urban Farm, <https://www.urbanfarm.org/2019/05/28/mesquite-harvesting/> (Mar. 1, 2022).
[8]“Mesquite Beans and How to Harvest and Use Them.” (2020). Preparedness Advice, <https://preparednessadvice.com/mesquite-beans-harvest-use/> (Mar. 1, 2022).
[9]Gerndon, C. (2022). “Everything Mesquite.” Native Seeds , <https://www.nativeseeds.org/blogs/blog-news/everything-mesquite> (Mar. 15, 2022).
[10]Pluto, L. (2013). “Passive Harvesting for Mesquite Pods to be Introduced.” University of Arizona News, University of Arizona, <https://news.arizona.edu/blog/passive-harvesting-mesquite-pods-be-introduced> (Feb. 14, 2022).
[11]Hudes, K. (2018). “Texas Baker Rekindles Interest In The Mysterious Mesquite Bean.” The Salt Whats's on your plate, <https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/10/04/649311562/austin-baker-rekindles-interest-in-the-mysterious-mesquite-bean> (Feb. 16, 2022).
