UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS

SCHOOL OF BIOPROCESS ENGINEERING

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

OF VIBRATORY COCKLES
GRADING MACHINE

OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION

PROBLEM STATEMENT
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
LITERATURE REVIEW
METHODOLOGY
RESULT AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATION
COMMERCIALIZATION POTENTIAL

INTRODUCTION

BLOOD COCKLES (ANADARA GRANOSA)

Locally known as kerang and

commercially cultured in tidal mudflats
(along western coast of Peninsular
Malaysia).
One of the popular shellfish that provides
a good protein source, and popular
gourmet seafood in Malaysia.
Its cultivation is a good revenue earner as
the demand increase.
Major cockle producing areas:
a) Perak: Kuala Sg. Mas and Kuala
Sepetang
b) Penang: Kuala Juru

LARGE SCALE GRADING INDUSTRY FOR

COCKELS

Cockles commonly grade using long

rectangular vibratory grading machine.
Range size of grading: large, medium,
medium.
Grading purpose: to produce high quality
production and obtain uniform size.
Common industrial grading machine
generally by means of vibration
mechanism.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Problem

Nowadays, mostly people demand in

getting higher amount of cockles in short
time.
Most of the fisherman in this country that
sell cockles still use traditional method
grading that is by using hands.
This manual handling method will consume
more time and human power (labor) that
results in low quality and low production
rate.

Solution

High production rate and good quality of cockles need to

be improved.
By designing small scale grading machine, most
fisherman will able to have it at low cost and at the same
time can help increasing production rate with minimum
space required.

For large scale current grading machine, even the

production rate is higher than the small scale machine,
quality improvement still can be done to make it more
efficient.
These can be improve in term of production capacity by
optimize the rate of frequency of the container to move
the cockles into the preferred hole size.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
To study the physical
properties and size of the
cockles.
To design the vibratory
grading mechanism of
cockles processing machine.
To analyze the design
efficiency of machine
improvement.

RANGE SIZE OF MALAYSIA COCKELS:

1. Penang: medium (28 34 mm)

large (38 47 mm)
2. Perak: small (5.5 16.5mm)
large (30.5 36.5 mm)
3. Selangor: small (7 21 mm)
large (25 39 mm)

CURRENT GRADING MACHINE:

1. Roller sieve
2. Sample test vibrating sieve
3. Conveyor grading machine
4. Real-time grading method

LITERATURE
REVIEW
FOOD GRADING/SORTING:
1. Size sorting (screening) is the
separation of solids into two or more
fractions on basis of differences in size.
2. Grading should be employed as early
as possible to ensure a uniform product
for subsequent process.
3. Foods which have a uniform size are
said to be preferred by customers.

Sample test
vibrating
sieve

Conveyor
grading
machine

Roller sieve

Real-time
grading
method

METHODOLOGY
Measure physical
characteristics of
cockles (size)

Product
specifications for
grading design
machine (Needsmetric matrix)

Evaluate current
grading design
machine

Develop
prototype using
Autodesk
Inventor

Evaluation of new
improvement
design machine
(Pugh concept
selection matrix)

Propose new
design concept of
grading machine
(Concept
combination table)

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. Physical properties of blood cockles based on 26 samples
from market:
Physical properties
Item

Estimated values

Average length

28.5 mm

Average width

34 mm

Average thickness

24.3 mm

Volume

12 329 mm

Spherical percentage

84.3 %

Geometric diameter

28.7 mm

Arithmetic diameter

19.6 mm

Flat surface area

761 mm

Transverse surface

544 mm

2. Design concept selection (Concept combination table)

Concept A

Concept B

Concept C

D (reference)

Pugh concept selection

Purpose : to narrow the number of concepts quickly and to

improve the concepts.

 Concept B:
Feeding inlet and product
outlet is cone in shape that
give optimum feeding rate
and output rate also better
distribution of cockles into
screening deck.
No transmitted vibration to
the body frame of machine.
Less noise
Less power consumption
Portable
Durable (corrosion
resistance)
Small
Lightweight

Exploded view of vibratory grading

machine using Autodesk Inventor

Assemble product of vibratory grading

machine using Autodesk Inventor

Feeding inlet

Deck

Cockles outlet

Compression springs
Base

3. Design the vibration mechanism of cockles grading machine

Rotating shafts are mounted at

right angles to desired direction
vibration.
Eccentric weights attached to
rotating shafts create centrifugal
forces cause vibration of shafts
and member by which they are
supported.

Motor

Vibrated members (body machine)

that carry the cockles will be
conveyed/sieved.
Vibration mechanism in screening machine

4. Analyzed of machine efficiency

Passage ratio dependence on relative size

0.9

Passage ratio (Eit)

0.8
0.7

0.6
0.5

0.4

26-28 mm

0.3

20-25 mm

0.2
0.1
0
10

20

30

40

50

60

t (s)

Efficiency of machine was test based on sizing efficiency in relation to passage

rate factor.
Screening duration was known to have a major effect on accuracy of sizing.
The longer the screening duration, the more accurate the sizing of blood cockles.
Both range size of 26 28 mm (medium) and 20 25 mm (small) shows the
increased in passage ratio with the increasing of screening duration.
Passage rate factor of medium range size lower compare to the small size .
This is because the weight gives lower kinetic movement and result in lower
Passage rate of cockles pass through the perforation.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this project able to help me understand the flow
of designing product and all the objectives successfully
achieved.
Design of Concept B was the best concept among the others
because it manages to fulfill the selection criteria.
This design has its own potential to gives out many positive
and benefits compare to the current grading machine that
exist nowadays.
Even the previous analysis of blood cockles was test on stone
screening machine that have same concept and mechanism,
it still give positive result, but with the test on real fabrication
of vibratory cockles grading machine, it can produced better
results of machine efficiency.

RECOMMENDATION
Optimization of result can be
achieved
if
appropriate
mechanism and fabrication of
machine is made.
Moreover,
this
vibratory
cockles grading machine can
be further improves by insert
the anti-blinding devices for
screening
perforation
to
prevent
screen
blinding
occurs.

If there are lot of research on

blood cockles, it can also gives
chances to another species of
clams because with some
modification
we can do
grading to other species of
clams.
This vibratory grading machine
can be used for marine
product and give better
impact to post harvest
in Malaysia.

COMMERCIALIZATION POTENTIAL
There are so many option to do commercialization for this
design as it is already known for grading other products but
not for blood cockles.
It has high potential to compete with other current grading
machine because it can upgrade the quality of production
rate, reduce space and time consuming for grading.
It also have greater chances to replace large scale current
cockles grading machine by alter the size and power
requirement that fit to the quantity of cockles and according
to customer need.
Any company or customer the concerned with the quality of
their products should place the vibratory grading
machine high on their list priorities.