Development of a village-level abaca twisting machine

Issue Date

8-2006

Abstract

Yarn is the basic material used in the production of twines for handicraft, which is the traditional source of income in the Bicol Region, Leyte and other abaca-producing areas of the country. The traditional manual method of knotting and twisting the fiber using the bilyo to form a continuous yarn is tedious, time-consuming, and results in uneven-quality twines. This limits the handicraft processors' ability to produce more for the local and export markets. Assessment studies were conducted to determine the factors involved in the yarn-making process. The results of these studies were used as the basis for the design of the device. A village-level abaca twisting machine (ATM) was developed at the National Abaca Research Center (NARC), LSU using locally available as well as adapted spare parts. Results of the evaluation showed that the ATM can produce twisted yarn from abaca fiber and bacbac (dried outer part of the leaf sheath) materials with sizes ranging from 1/8" Ø to 1/2" Ø by changing the combination of gears. Performance evaluation revealed twisting capacities of 360 m/hr for abaca fiber and 220 m/hr for bacbac material. Comparative evaluation between the ATM and the bilyo in the production of yarn showed that the ATM produced significantly higher output (219.6 m/hr) than the bilyo (167.1 m/hr). Output capacity of the ATM was affected by the skill of the operators as well as the length and uniformity of the raw materials. Acceptability evaluation of the produced bacbac yarn showed no significant difference with the commercially available (bilyo-processed) yarn. Result of the cost and return analysis showed that with abaca fiber, the ATM has a payback period of 0.73 year and a return on investment (ROI) of 138%. With bacbac, the ATM has a payback period of 0.52 year and ROI of 192%. Pilot testing of the ATM revealed the following: it is easy to operate; it is quick and fast; it does not need a long time to master how to operate; it is not stressful to the operator; quality is easy to control; bigger and wider space is not necessary; and the operator can alternately sit down and stand up while working.

Source or Periodical Title

Philippine Journal of Crop Science

ISSN

0115-463x

Volume

31

Issue

2

Page

3-14

Document Type

Article

Frequency

tri-quarterly

Physical Description

tables, pictures

Language

English

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