We Indian Cacoa growers scoop the Cacoa seeds from the pod manually. Is there any simple machine or trick to do the job? Please share the knowledge, if any.Rajarajeshwari.
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06/12/09 10:43:28AM @clay:
Rajarajeshwari:You are not alone in India. This is how it is done all around the world where cacao is grown. Since the dawn of the industrial revolution (if not before) I am sure that there have been attempts to mechanize the process of opening pods and scooping the seeds (and then separating the seeds from the placenta). However, the fact that there is no such machine is a testament to how difficult the challenge is.From a machine design perspective I can see lots of challenges in doing this well (and simply), in part because of the variability in size and wall thickness of pods.No doubt there are other reasons.
Rajarajeshwari:You are not alone in India. This is how it is done all around the world where cacao is grown. Since the dawn of the industrial revolution (if not before) I am sure that there have been attempts to mechanize the process of opening pods and scooping the seeds (and then separating the seeds from the placenta). However, the fact that there is no such machine is a testament to how difficult the challenge is.From a machine design perspective I can see lots of challenges in doing this well (and simply), in part because of the variability in size and wall thickness of pods.No doubt there are other reasons.