About
The overall idea behind the Palm Harvester project is to create a mechanism which safely removes bunches of palm fruit from 40 ft tall oil palm trees. The design of the mechanism is entirely up to the team as long as it improves the previous years mechanism, does not exceed the budget, and produces the desired output of removing the bunches from the tree. There are a variety of improvements that can be made to develop the previous years mechanism. These improvements include: replacing the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) telescoping pole with a ductile aesthetically pleasing material, simplifying the pulley system; replacing the cutting mechanism; automating the telescoping pole; replacing the wheels; and revamping the cart. By improving and incorporating these aspects, the resulting palm harvester will be appealing to the intended customers, oil palm plantation owners and service industries, thus resulting in them purchasing the palm harvester.
Documents
Collection of documents throughout the project.
Video
Gallery
Photos and videos of the project over the year.
Palm Harvester
Previous Year
Cart
Cart with Pivot Unit
Palm Harvester Diagram
Labeled diagram of the Palm Harvester mechanism
Palm Harvester Extended
Palm Harvester at three different lengths
Alignment Block Drawing
Plans for lowering center of gravity
Our Amazing Team
Amber Smith
Amber is a senior Industrial Engineering student at the FAMU-FSU college of engineering. Amber has held various internships at NASA, NSF, Turner Broadcasting, and JP Morgan. Upon graduating Amber hopes to move to California and work for a prominent tech company and start her own business.
Chris Chiros
Chris is an Industrial Engineering student at Florida State University. Chris worked with Caterpillar as an intern on the summer of 2014. When not in school, Chris enjoys spending his free time at the FSU Flying High Circus practicing for upcoming performances.
Maurice Derius
Maurice is a senior industrial engineering student at the FAMU-FSU college of Engineering. He was born and raised in Haiti and he is fluent in both French and Creole. If Maurice is not busy with school projects, he is working as a Choice Counselling Specialist for Automated Health System. Once he graduates, Maurice is looking forward to entering the workforce to start his career as an industrial engineer.
Talya Levin
Talya is a senior mechanical engineering student at Florida State University. After completing her undergraduate education, she plans to attend graduate school. Her intentions are to pursue a graduate degree in the materials engineering field and eventually become a professor.
Thomas Baker
Thomas Baker is a senior Mechanical Engineering major at Florida State University. He interned for two summers focusing in accident reconstruction. Thomas enjoys performing and teaching marching band in his spare time. Music and engineering are the major focuses in Thomas life, so in the future he plans on working in the music industry, designing instruments or machines that make instruments.
Shaneatha Gates
Shaneatha Gates senior electrical engineering student at Florida State University. After graduation she plans to work in the oil and gas industry while pursing her Masters degree. In her spare time she enjoys singing and helping out with fundraisers at her church.
