Transcript

The last case study which we are going to discuss now is going to be a motorcycle driven ploughing machine. This case study was not developed by us and we have completely taken it from that open literature which was available.

Why a Motor Cycle Driven Plough?

Ploughing is a operation where there is a lot of muscle intensive work. So here for this muscle intensive work if a man cannot do, we always use an animal to do today the animal also are not many, so people are trying to do it using the locomotive which they are enjoying. So there is a famous motorcycle driven ploughing. This is a special case study where we try to shift from creating solutions for extremely poor farmers with medium income. The solution created in the case study might look frugal, but it has been followed detailed product design journey. The product developed in this study is an outcome of innovative design combined with the rigorous engineering design and analysis. Again, I repeat to the viewers, this is taken from the open literature.

Empathy Study

So this is a empathy study which is done. So here is an empathy study, which is done and which people have recorded it. So in cotton seed and groundnut plantation, which is very common in a state in Gujarat, in Gujarat, small and marginalized farmers are deep, are dependent upon cash crops like cotton and grounded. Depending upon the monsoon ploughing can be either single or deep depending upon the moisture of the soil. Increasing frequency of drought, decreased the supply of fodder, restrictive usage of Bullock cart, high maintenance cost of draft animals add to the production of the cost. So tractors were found uneconomical for later stages of ploughing. So people, what they used to do is they themselves tie up to the arm, whatever is there. Two women try to pull the load and person used to stand there and this was the mechanism used to for ploughing where they wanted to do for cotton and groundnut plantation. Gujarat is a state in some parts of Gujarat water scarcity is a common feature. So there they use this as your practice in the past.

Ideation
So after several ideation, that was, a development which happened in those villages. So inspired by the local mode of transport, a three wheeled taxi “Chhakdo” innovator had developed an innovative multipurpose farming machine, which can do all the operations, which can be carried out by a pair of Bullock. So it can be used as a loader, it can be used as a ploughing machine and it tries to be used in all stages of farming. So this is a product which has developed a “Chhakdo”, a frugal innovation, which has become inspired for ploughing innovation. Using the self fabricated chassis, drive and power of an Enfield Bullet. Many of the rural India people would love to use Enfield vehicle, which is otherwise called as India’s Harrison Davis vehicle. So it is almost a similar version of it. So here people have attached that to a three wheeler so that they converted a two wheeler into a three wheeler for their utilization.
A rear wheel of the motorcycle has been removed and an innovative assembly unit has been attached. It can also be designed and attached to a locally available “Chhakdo” rickshaw or assembled vehicle with a minimum of 6.5 hp engine. So the 6.5 HP engine is a common thing which is available in that bikes. These are all motorized bikes. This meets various needs for ploughing, weeding, sewing, spraying. The improved productivity and reduced operating costs for farmers who currently uses bullock driven plough and cannot afford for tractors can use this as a ideal solution.

Definition
So the definition, the device was developed by an Indian artesian cum farmer and has already proven its utility ideal for wide range of agricultural operation like field preparation, sowing, inter cultivating, spraying, etc. It is simple, easy, repairable and reduces low and requires low maintenance. It is simple, easily repairable and requires low maintenance in contrast to tractors. No continuous variable cost in contrast to bullock’s. Compared price of bullock. Attached an Enfield and some other motorcycle.

Prototype
So this is the first prototype, which the innovator did in 1994 the extension of a rod, which was removed a single rod was there that he extended and he made two wheels there. So the same prototype was further improvised and made as a plough and this was attached to a tractor. So this was manually control for adjusting of the plough depth. This was done. So this was the improvised version of this. And the next one is mechanically attached to the level for lifting the plough. So a lever for lifting the plough was attached. So it was used for disengaging and engaging, converting two wheeler into three wheeler and three wheeler back to two wheeler. So these are the prototypes which people have, developed and it has got evolved. And today you see this is the final prototype which is being patented which is used. So a tractor is not used, a bike is used, a bike and a plougher is a, a plough is attached to it and it is used for ploughing operations in the farm. So a patent is available in India as well as in us. So this is the bike which you are talking about. So a crude prototype, an improvised version, crude prototype, speed reduction by chain driven and no reverse speed arrangement was there. A new gearbox with reverse gear option is incorporated and minimize the power loss during the direct shaft attached to the gear. No reverse gear facility was available in the crude prototype that means, to say high fidelity prototype, but in the improvise to product it was available so they could attach a gearbox to it.

Design Specifications: Comparative Benchmarking
And these are the specifications which got made. So as a pair of Bullock, this was the spec and then motorcycle plough this was the spec and Asia Tractor Asia is a company where they make tractor and this is a specification. By using a pair of Bullock and motorcycle. So they could see a huge improvement. Buying a motorcycle plough was always a frugal solution for the agricultural people.

Applications
So the field cultivation, inter cultivating, spraying, transporting, sowing of seed by driller and sowing by labor. So all these things are done by the single machine, which got improvised and then a current patent is available.

Prototyping: summary
So to summarize this case study, we have learned that how an already available frugal solution can be used for developing agricultural implements. In this case study, we have brought an innovation in parts of the solution, and we have, the main challenge was the gearbox because vary in speed. This case study can teach us that a complex product development cycle may take lot of time to mature. The product life cycle can be longer, and depending upon both the maturing of the technology and the customer satisfaction. So this is a case study which is taken from the literature in which a device is developed an implement is developed, which can do multiple operations in a farm and can get fit into the socio economical budget of the farmers.

Thank you very much.