Study and Improvement for Slice Smoothness in Slicing Machine of Lotus Root

Concerning the problem of the low cutting quality and the bevel edge in the piece of lotus root, the reason was analyzed and the method of improvement was to reduce the force in the vertical direction of link to knife. 3D parts and assemblies of cutting mechanism in slicing machine of lotus root were created under Pro/E circumstance. Based on virtual prototype technology, the kinematics and dynamics analysis of cutting mechanism was simulated with ADAMS software, the best slice of time that is 0.2s~0.3s was obtained, and the curve of the force in the vertical direction of link to knife was obtained. The vertical force of knife was changed accordingly with the change of the offset distance of crank. Optimization results of the offset distance of crank showed the vertical force in slice time almost is zero when the offset distance of crank is -80mm. Tests show that relative error of thickness of slicing is less than 10% after improved design, which is able to fully meet the technical requirements.