Design and Simulation Analysis of Lightweight Clamping and Conveying Device for Tobacco Topping

To meet the requirements of tobacco topping and ensure the efficient removal of topped buds, leaves, and shoots from the field. A lightweight clamping conveyor device was designed through an analysis of the forces acting on critical components and their operational principles. A rigid-flexible coupling dynamic simulation of the tobacco top stalks clamping and conveying process was conducted using ADAMS. An orthogonal experiment with three factors (forward speed, clamping distance, and conveying speed) at three levels was performed, with clamping success rate and conveying success rate as evaluation indices. Field validation experiments showed that at a forward speed of 0.6 m/s, a clamping distance of 11 mm, and a conveying speed of 1.1 m/s, the average clamping success rate was 94.52%, and the average conveying success rate was 98.36%. The conveying process was stable, with a high collection rate of top stalk, demonstrating strong adaptability to agricultural practices and meeting the operational requirements of tobacco topping in the field.