Automated Rubber tree tapping and latex mixing machine for quality production of natural rubber

Rubber plantation is one of the main plantation crops in some regions of India. Due to the unavailability of skilled laborers, increased labor charges and low income from rubber plantations discourage the planters to continue with this crop. Rubber tapping is the process of extraction of latex from rubber trees. On a typical day, the tapper has to tap about 500 to 800 rubber trees manually with a tapping tool within a specified time of the day. The paper proposes the construction of the semi-automated rubber tapping machine which safeguards the rubber tree from manual damage happening during the taping. After extracting rubber latex from the tree, it has to be mixed with other solvents for quality rubber sheet production. Manual mixing is time-consuming and it requires skilled laborers. This kind of mixing sometimes causes wastage of rubber sap and also may produce poor quality of rubber sheets. An automatic machine performing the mixing process by measuring dry rubber content (DRC) in concentrated natural latex is presented in this paper. The mixing process requires solutions like latex, water and dilutes acid. Based on the DRC level of rubber latex, water is mixed in a ratio with the aid of controlling device and then mixed solution is poured to the dishes for further process. The system is aimed at assisting rubber planters in the mixing process thereby improving the quality of the rubber sheet.