ME360 Project #1: Illustration of Invasive Plant Remover

The goal of this project was to create a potential solution to the rise of invasive species with large lilies on its branches known as "Nymphaea mexicana" in the Guardian River in Badajoz, Spain. My proposed solution to this problem is below:

Figure 1: Illustrated Design of the Plant Remover: The primary parts highlighted are the steel container itself, the steel shovel, the steel shaft, and the steel wall stoper.

As shown in this illustration, this is a steel-based container that be barged from the back and pushed by boats and consists of various components, including the shovel at the front, the shaft, and the wall stopper. This container relies purely on gravity and does not involve motorized components. The holes on the shovel help drain out the water and reduce excess mass for when the back end of the shovel is overwhelmed by lilies and leaves and the cut plants, by means of gravity and counterbalance, proceed to fall down. The wall stopper ensures this happens because it allows for the plants to build up on the non-skewed (shorter) end of the shovel relative to the shaft holding it as well as the rest of the container in place.

Figure 2: Illustrated Detailed Design of the CAM-shaft system implemented through the shovel.

As shown in this picture, there is also a CAM attached to the shaft and shovel that will lock in place with a releaser being held in place by rope and controlled by a boat operator. When the shovel is tipped over, there is enough time for all the lilies and plants to fall into the container.

Below is a video demonstration of a physical prototype of the hypothetical plant remover.

Video 1: Video Showcasing of a Model Plant Remover I created out of sheet metal and nylon (for the CAM).

In this video, I applied a sample force with my hand on the side of the brown shovel where the plants would pile onto, allowing said plants to fall into the yellow container. This also allows the blue handle to fall by means of gravity and lock with the CAM and shaft. By manual means, someone on a boat can simply press down on the other end of the handle, and the shovel will return to its original state and pick up a new set of plants