Fruits are to be filled in the hopper which is provided on the feeding end. Fruits are then to be moved on the flappers resting on the chain moving by sprockets fixed at two opposite ends. The gap between the flappers is gradually increases from feeding end to the discharge end. Speed of the flappers can be changed by changing the rpm of the sprockets. Fruits will be passed from the gap when the size of fruit will match with the gap size. Three collection units are provided below the flapper assembly to collect the graded fruits. The three commercial grades, i.e. A (above 60 mm), B (40 to 60 mm) and C (below 40 mm), can be achieved through this grader. For easy movement and to prevent the damage due to collision of fruits 4 cm free space was provided at both the opposite sides facing the roller chain. Further, a free space of 2 cm was provided to accommodate any possible abnormal size fruits. The machine can be operated either manually (with handle) or by electrical motor.
The flapper type multipurpose fruit & vegetable grader having a 10 kg holding capacity of feed hopper with dimension 300 x 180 x 200 mm. A total 27 numbers of rectangular shaped flappers of 400 mm length, 100 mm breath fabricated from 20 gauge GI sheet is attached in the machine. The machine can be operated by manually or power. The grader is useful for grading fruits and vegetables into 3 grades with 80-90% grading efficiency. The output capacity of the machine is 400 kg/h.