A semi-automatic prototype machine for splitting and endosperm extraction of Nypa fruticans: Design and experimental evaluation

Nypa fruticans is a mangrove palm whose immature fruit endosperm is widely consumed, but harvesting and extraction are still largely performed manual, resulting in low productivity and inconsistent quality. This study presents the design and experimental evaluation of a semi-automatic prototype machine for splitting nipa palm fruits and extracting the endosperm. The machine integrates a roller-blade mechanism for fruit splitting with a suction-based endosperm extraction system. To determine suitable operating conditions, the Taguchi design of experiments was applied using two independent L9 orthogonal arrays for the splitting and extraction functions. The performance was evaluated using the mean response and ANOVA analyses. The results show that the proposed mechanism achieves relatively high and stable splitting, while the extraction performance is mainly influenced by the suction flow rate. Integrated tests on 180 fruits under optimised conditions confirmed stable splitting and a practical extraction efficiency. The results demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed prototype and provide a basis for further improvements in robustness and processing capacity.