Addis Ababa University

Addis Ababa Institute of Technology

School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

DESIGN AND PROTOTYPE OF INLINE SEEDER

A proposal submitted to the School of Mechanical and Industrial

Engineering as a partial fulfillment of the award Bachelor of Science degree in
Mechanical Engineering.

Submitted by:
1. Hailemariam Weldegebrel ID. NO: ATE/9170/09 Stream: design
2. Berhanu Moshe ID. NO: TCE/5378/98 Stream: motor
3. Atnafe Eshetu ID. NO: ATE/1020/06 Stream: motor

Advisor: Bruck Alemu

April 2022
Table of Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Problem statement................................................................................................................................. 6
Objective ................................................................................................................................................ 6
General objective ............................................................................................................................... 6
Specific objective ............................................................................................................................... 6
Significance of the study ........................................................................................................................ 7
Scope of the study .................................................................................................................................. 7
Literature review ................................................................................................................................... 7
Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Activity schedule.................................................................................................................................. 11
References ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Abstract
Lack of in line sowing machine reduces utility due to incorrect placing seeds and wrong
spacing. The germination of plants or seed can be affected by the lack of in line drilling seeds in
the right space. As well as the depth of the land in which the seed is placed and seed compacting
with the soil have great effect in good germination.
In Ethiopia most of the farmers are using traditional method of sowing. But this traditional
method of sowing is not effective to achieve a good product. Due to this case the sowing
machine is designed to solve the problem in farming and producing utilities. This sowing
machine is designed suitable to farmers to push using medium power and speed to produce a
good utility. Rather than traditional sowing method this sowing machine covers a large area per
day and seeds can grow and produce effectively due to row-to-row seeding.
The seeding machine we are about to design operates manually by pushing. Which will be very
easy for the farmer to operate. The force applied to the machine mill be minimized by decreasing
resistance force of the machine. The resistance force might vary because of the soil type which
will also be considered and it will cover three rows in the same time.
Introduction
Agricultural machineries are a lot of machineries which is used to plough, sowing or planting,
harvesting, and threshing for the purpose of optimizing yields. Regards to this in Ethiopia there is
the problem of sowing or planting seeds because almost all of Ethiopian peasants sow the different
kinds of seeds manually. Due to this plant cannot give optimized yield. To solve this problem the
modernized sowing is important.

Seeding or sowing is an art of placing seeds in the soil to have good germination in the field. A
perfect seeding gives:

1. Correct number of seed per unit area.

2. Correct depth at which seed is placed in the soil.
3. Correct spacing between row to row and plant to plant.

Agricultural machinery is surpassing greater height with the inventions of new machineries and
new ways of getting better yield has exposed the concerned industry to the fire of competition.
Today the farmers have become aware of the modern technologies that can fetch that better yield
and also help them manage it with multiple machineries. Today the market is being flooded with
a variety of sowing and planting machines to make the labor demanding task a bit easier for the
farmers.

Every day is introducing modern, sophisticated and better version of such machines, which have
delighted the agricultural people to a great extent. This has also brought new hopes for the farmers
as they are looking forward to a better and transformed future in agricultural industry which has
no longer remained a risky area. We are well aware that sowing of seeds by hand is by far one of
the most laborious and one which only a few men can perform correctly. However surpassing
technologies have ensured that sowing grains will longer be a study task but various machines
suitably designed for this purpose will perform the tougher task in no time. Various new tools have
sophisticated the task of planting and sowing seeds and different machines have flooded the
market.

This has led to a thrilling boost in the agro market. simpler designs and complicated tasks are the
trade mark of these machines. Planting cereals, grains, and other vegetables was never so easy till
agro revolution. Sowing is planting is one of the basic operations needed to get better revenue from
agriculture. It is a device that precisely positions seeds in the soil and then covers them. before the
introduction the seeding machine, the common practice was to plant seeds by hand. Besides being
wasteful planting was very imprecise and led to a poor distribution of seeds, leading to low
productivity. In planting wider rows are used, and the intent is to have precise, even spacing
between individual seeds in the row, various mechanisms have been devised to count our
individual seeds at exact intervals.

Ethiopia is one of the fast-growing countries. The growth can be gotten from basically agricultural
sector dominates the Ethiopian economy. It is the major supplier of raw materials to food
processing, beverage and textile industries. Hence, Ethiopia’s GDP is largely dependent on the
performance of the agricultural sector. The current government adopted an agriculture centered
development strategy known as Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) since
1994/95. It focuses on productivity improvement of smallholder agriculture through diffusion of
fertilizers, improved seeds and setting up credit schemes. Given the emphasis of increasing crop
production through higher fertilizer use, import of chemical fertilizer augmented. This increase
has occurred despite the removal of fertilizer subsidies since 1997/98. Fertilizer use is concentrated
on cereals followed by pulses and oil seeds respectively. Sowing is one of the basic operations
needed to get better revenue from agriculture. Manual sowing has the problem of not giving
adequate spacing between each individual seeds. There may be less crowded or more crowded
population of crops because seeds are manually distributed over the land due to this way of sowing
productivity of the farmer in this country is not enough to satisfy the peoples of our country. Not
only this but also manual seeding is a time-consuming activity and needs more than one human
labor to sow in line. Hence there is a need to avoid this wasting of time as well as wasting of
fertilizer and seed by putting a machine that support the farmer to done appropriate seed dropping
and metering for the seed and fertilizer.
Problem statement
Inline seeding is the most productive and efficient way of seeding for many types of crops. In
Ethiopia we manly use broadcasting seeding which is not only inefficient but also has low
productivity. There are some farmers who use inline seeding but it is not mechanized. Seeding
inline by human labor is very time and energy consuming. In the farming agriculture economy
system, we have seen a lot of problems which cannot go with the current technological
advancement. As we know farming activity is done in our country by using animals as power
source. During animal pulled farming (plowing) there is a series problem in seed distribution on
farm land. It is not possible to active uniformity in distribution of seeds. A farmer may sow at
desired seed rate but inter raw and intra raw distribution seed is likely to be uneven resulting in
bunching and gaps in field. Wastage of seeds when using manual distribution of seeds. Not only
seeds but also fertilizers are not placed as a required result from the problem of distribution.

Inline seeding makes ease for inspection, removal of weeds, irrigation, utilization of land and crop
treatment and also significantly reduce seed wastage. Our inline seeder will be designed to solve
the above problem and increase productivity and efficiency.

Objective
General objective
The main objective of this paper is to design and prepare an inline sowing/seeding machine.
Specific objective
• To generate concepts and select the better one by concept scoring
• To develop the concept that has been selected
• To do a geometrical analysis using Solidwork
• To select a material suitable for the design
• To do analytical analysis by hand and excel
• To do simulation using ANSYS
• To model and develop a prototype
Significance of the study
The main significance of this study is to improve the simple sowing machine with in low cost and
proper materials which is use full to the farmers in almost part of Ethiopia. This study is also
important for farmers to save their energy and their time consumption to work, as well as this study
consider to sow seeds in line and compacting the fertilizer the soil and the seed to give good yields.
Significantly the study is studied and well modified the machine. Easley understand to farmers of
its operation and cost minimization.

Scope of the study

The scope of the study is up to development of prototype including the strength and the working
mechanisms of the machine with in simple and available material which are simple to manufacture,
easy to maintain and easy to assemble and disassemble by the farmers considering the
manufacturing process of each material and their property.

Literature review
This research paper presents design and development of manually operated seed planter machine.
In this they present objective of seed planter machine design, factors affecting seed emergence,
some mechanisms. The basic objective of sowing operation is to put the seed and fertilizer in rows
at desired depth and seed to seed spacing, cover the seeds with soil and provide proper compaction
over the seed. The recommended seed to seed spacing and depth of seed placement vary from crop
to crop and for different agro-climate conditions to achieve optimum yields. From this we know
that mechanical factors effects on seed germination like uniformity of depth of placement of seed,
uniformity of distribution of seed along rows. In this power transmission mechanism, seed meter
mechanisms, plunger mechanism and other mechanisms are used. The working as machine is
pushed; power wheel is rotating which transmit power to plunger through chain and sprocket
mechanism. Now cam is mounted on sprocket shaft which push plunger towards downward
direction. Once plunger is penetrating in soil and during backward stroke flapper is opened so seed
get separated from plunger and inserted in dig. From this we get idea that if we use the belt having
small holes with defined thickness then it is beneficial for our project. As our automatic seed feeder
is only for small seeds then using of conveyor belt with motor is useful.[1]

This research paper present “Agriculture Seed Sowing Equipment: A Review”. The present review
provides brief information about the various types of innovations done in seed sowing equipment.
The basic objective of sowing operation is to put the seed and fertilizer in rows at desired depth
and seed to seed spacing, cover the seeds with soil and provide proper compaction over the seed.
In this multipurpose seeding machine equipment consists of cylindrical shape container in which
the seeds can fill. The container is attached on the four wheeled carrier assembly. It consists of
metering plate bevel gear mechanism and two holes at the bottom depending on seed size. The
working as plate will rotate in container when the bottom holes of container and meter plate hole
coincide seeds will flow through pipe to soil. Here the metering plate gets rotating motion by bevel
gear assembly and the bevel gears get the motion by rear wheels with the help chain and sprocket
assembly.[2]

This research paper presents design modification in multipurpose sowing machine. In this they
present that for sowing purpose we import the machinery which are bulk in size having more cost.
To prevent this, they design multipurpose sowing machine which consists of hopper, seed metering
mechanism, ground wheel, power transmission system, seed distributor, and tiller. In this they
design model on PRO-E software. Actually, the working is very simple as the tiller rotates it
directly transmit motion to ground wheel which directly connected through main shaft. A main
shaft has a disc with scoops inside the hopper. When the ground wheel rotates the main shaft also
rotates with the help of power transmission system. The scoops collect the seed from hopper and
leave it inside the seed distributor. The tiller is having very good contact with ground.[3]

This research paper represents “Design & Implementation of Multi Seed Sowing Machine”. In this
paper gives types sowing machine. The following are the three different types of seed sowing are
broadcasting: A field is initially prepared with a plough to a series of linear cuts known as furrows.
The field is then seeded by throwing the seeds over the field, a method known as manual
broadcasting. The result was a field planted roughly in rows, but having a large number of plants.
When he seeds are scattered randomly with the help of hand on the soil, the method is called
broadcasting.

Dribbling: Drill sowing and dribbling (making small holes in the ground for seeds) are better
method of sowing the seeds. Once the seeds are put in the holes, they are then covered with the
soil. This saves time and labor and prevents the damage of seeds by birds. Another method of
sowing the seeds is with the help of a simple device consisting of bamboo tube with a funnel on it
attached to a plough. As the plough moves over the field the tube attached to it leaves the seeds
kept in the funnel at proper spacing and depth. The plough keeps making furrows in the soil in
which the seeds are dropped by the seed drill.[4]

Agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the
overall economy of India. For the growth of Indian economy, mechanization is necessary. The
main purpose of mechanization in the agriculture is to improve the overall productivity and
production. Planning is conventionally done manually which involves humans and draught
animals, this result in higher cost of cultivation and delay in planting. The purpose of this paper is
to compare conventional sowing methods and modern methods. The required row to row spacing,
seed rate, seed to seed spacing can be achieved by proposed machine. The machine reduces the
human efforts.[5]

This research paper presents information about modern globalization; many technologies are to
update a new development based on automation which works very rigidly, high effectively and
within short time period. The progressive invention in agricultural system is becoming an
important task especial because of rising demand on quality of agriculture products and declining
labors availability in rural farming areas. The designed system is seeding and fertilizing agriculture
robot using micro controller. The aim of designed system is to seeding fertilizing and soil ph,
temperature, moisture, humidity checking. The robot is controlled by remote. The designed system
involves navigation of robot is controlled via remote. The robot and remote system are connected
through internet system. DC motors are used for navigation of the robot. The speed of DC motor
is controlled using controller. The solenoid is used to control seeding fertilizing. This paper gives
idea about the automation and use of motor for movement of belt conveyor.[6]

The performance of a planter depends upon uniformity of seed distribution in furrows, which is
difficult to measure in the field condition due to soil coverage after planting operation. Present
investigation was carried out by using a test stand fitted with camera system equipped with a
conveyer belt smeared with grease to evaluate the performance of a pneumatic precision metering
device designed for wheat. By comparing the vacuum and belt seeders for vegetable planting, it is
observed that a vacuum seeder used 90% less seed versus the standard bulk metering planter [9].
It is observed that uniform and spherical seeds, such as soya bean and maize are easy to meter with
the vacuum metering system and concluded that the miss index decreases and the multiple index
increases with increasing vacuum pressure for all seeds [8]. The popular and widely used
horizontal seed metering is having several problems, including higher seed damage, missing and
multiple drops [10]. Inclined and vertical plate planters were developed and used further to reduce
these losses. Furthermore, the research on the above-mentioned aspects led to the development of
the pneumatic seed metering device [11]. This mechanism has several advantages over the
previous metering system including metering irregular shaped seeds, preventing seed damage,
efficient and cost effective besides spherical seeds. Moreover, the most commonly adopted
pneumatic planters are equipped to release single seeds in furrows as per the desired plant spacing
by using a modular rotating seed disc under negative pressure. Previously, the test stand with
camera system was used to optimize the operational parameters of a pneumatic seed metering
device for planting cottonseeds [12]. It was reported that with the increase in pressure, the miss
index value was reduced but it increased with the elevated speed. With lower vacuum pressure and
at higher speeds, the metering disc does not get enough time to pick up seeds, resulting in higher
miss indices. The multiple indices on the other hand are lower at higher speed but increase at
higher pressure. The fluted-roller seed meter is capable of metering seed uniformly and is
commonly used as metering device for drilling of wheat but is negatively impacted by sudden
release of seed batches [13]. Seymour's sowing machine which was successfully introduced among
the farmers of Western New York. It sows correctly all kinds of grain and seed, from peas to grass
seed. With this machine, anybody who can drive a horse with common accuracy, may ride in an
easy seat and sow much better than is usually done by hand, or than most people can sow by hand.
Sahay stated that seed drills or seed cum fertilizer drills (Bullock drawn tractor drawn or manual
push type seeders) facilitate line sowing and proper application of seed and fertilizer in the field.
Thus, there is saving of 10-15% inputs. About 30% saving of fertilizer is estimated if properly
applied. The animal drawn two row and three row sowing devices have been adopted as these
cover more area at less cost. Jain stated that seed drill is developed to save time, fuel and irrigation
expenses. These machines are used for sowing all types of seeds like wheat, maize, and soya etc.
in fully tilled field. The mechanism of a seed drill, which distributes and delivers the seeds from
the hopper at selected rates, is called seed metering mechanism.[7]

After looking the above literatures written about seed sowing mechanisms and individual
components of the machine we have decide to design a seed &fertilizer dropping machines in a
line. This machine uses a power source from animal which are used to plough the farm. When the
farmer starts to plough the machine is attached to the farrow opener and when animals are move
forward it starts rotating through rolling of fly wheels. and also, we have selected the flouting roller
for seed metering device on the machine from the above literatures. There are so many types of
seed metering devices but for our design and for the type of seeds which the machine uses this
more preferable than the others.

Methodology
The design of the mechanical inline seeder will be carried out using the solidworks 2020 tool,
taking into account an extensive literature review, which will be considered at the time of
carrying out the design stages. The variables inferred in the process will be selected, based on the
characteristics of the soil of the region. Subsequently, calculations of the mechanical elements
that make up the machine will be performed.
• For review literatures we will be referring from AAIT library and internet service.
• For generate concepts we will brain storm as a grope and find different ideas from other
papers.
• To select the better concept by using concept scoring method
• For geometrical analysis we will be using solidwork2020
• Stress analysis will be done mostly by hand.
• Material selection will be performed by consideration of the geometric and stress analysis
suitable for the design
• numerical analysis will be done mostly by hand and excel
• For simulation we will be using ANSYS 12
• For modeling and prototype development we will use a verity of workshop equpments.
Activity schedule

s.no Activities weeks

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 Review of literature
2 Proposal development
3 Proposal defense + approval
4 Data collection/lab analysis
5 Data analysis
6 Prototype modeling and development
7 Draft report/ mock defense
8 Final defense
9 Final report + dissemination
References
[1] A. R. Kyada & D. B Patel,DEC 2014 “Design And Development Of Manually Operated Seed
Planter Machine” of Lecture 5th International & 26th All India Manufacturing Technology,
Design and Research Conference (AIMTDR 2014) , IIT Guwahati, Assam, India. Vol 2.
[2] D. Ramesh , H.P. Girishkumar,JULY 2014“ Agriculture Seed Sowing Equipments: A
review”, ISSN N0.:2278-7798,Volume3.
[3] A.Kannan , K. Esakkiraja , S. Thimmarayan, JAN 5014 “Design And Modification Of
Multipurpose Sowing Machine” VOL:2 ,ISSN (ONLINE): 2321-3051.
[4] Roshan V. Marode, P.Gajanan, and K.Swapnil ,OCT 2013“Design & Implementation of
Multiseed Sowing Machine”, vol : 2,No. 4, ISSN No.: 2278-0149, patented.
[5]A. Rohokale , 2004 “International journal of advanced agriculture system with proper seed
spacing”.
[6] B.Shivprasad, M. Ravishankara, B.Shoba.,2010 “Design And Implementation Of Seeding
And Fertilizing Agriculture Robot”, Volume 1(3)190-213.
[7] Ball, B. C. (1986). Cereal production with broadcast seed and reduced tillage: a review of
Recent experimental and farming experience. J. Agri. Eng. Res. 35(2), 71-95
[8] Karayel et al., 2005
[9] Parish, Bergeron and Bracey, 1991
[10] Singh, Singh and Saraswat, 2005
[11] Shafii and Holmes, 1990; Guarella, Pellerano and Pascuzzi, 1996
[12] Singh, Singh and Saraswat, 2005
[13] Maleki et al., 2006