Design and Testing of a Fully Automatic Aquatic Plant Combing Machine for Crab Farming

To meet the requirements of the crab growth environment regarding aquatic plant density and improve the efficiency of aquatic plant clearing, this paper shows the development process of a fully automatic aquatic plant combing machine for crab farming. It proposed the use of torsion spring hooks to replace traditional cutting blades to break tangled aquatic plants, reducing the length of aquatic plants in dense areas and thus controlling the density of aquatic plants in crab ponds. Through theoretical analysis and calculation of the torsion spring hooks, it was ensured that they could meet the design requirements, and transient dynamic simulation tests were conducted based on ANSYS. Finally, experimental verification was carried out. The performance test results of the torsion spring hooks showed that the torsion force generated within a certain torsion angle range could break the aquatic plant, and obstacles could be avoided through self-deformation. The water performance test results showed that the average clearing efficiency of the whole machine for aquatic plants was 4.92 mu/h, the missed clearing rate of aquatic plants was 0.44%, and the crab injury rate was 0.028%. The design of this machine can provide a reference for the development of aquatic plant harvesters for crab farming.