Department - Author 1
Mechanical Engineering Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BS in Mechanical Engineering
Date
12-2013
Primary Advisor
Peter Schuster
Abstract/Summary
Peach pits can break during processing into several small fragments and are difficult to see and remove from the peach. Wawona Frozen Foods is asking for a fully designed, built and tested prototype that can detect these pit fragments with ease and speed. Our design uses an array of needles that puncture into a peach half. A pressure sensor measures the force on the needles and determines whether or not each needle hit the peach flesh or a pit fragment. The array of needles consists of 313 needles each with a diameter of 0.6 mm with a total array diameter of 1.5 inches. The needle array puts a maximum force of 12 lbs compression on the peach half when the needles are puncturing into peach flesh. Our device works for peaches that range from 2-3 inches in diameter. Testing has shown that the needles do not change the integrity or taste of the peach.
Our design was built and tested over 3 months and improved as necessary. All feedback from Wawona during the Critical Design Review was be incorporated into the final prototype.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/mesp/197
Tables
AppendixB.pdf (1109 kB)
Drawings
AppendixC.pdf (50 kB)
Vendors
AppendixD.pdf (6137 kB)
Specification Sheets
AppendixE.pdf (3116 kB)
Analysis
AppendixF.pdf (282 kB)
Gantt Chart