PrensaFruta
An early prototype of the fruit juicer.
This shows the mechanical advantage of the design shown in the prototype images.
PrensaFruta
2013-2014
Dr. Mattson presented the team with a packet of interview data from Itacoatiara, Brazil. Our opportunity began with one of the interview participants, Carlos, a 60-year-old pineapple farmer who owns about 96,000 pineapple plants. Most of these are sold as whole pineapples locally and many of them go to waste. Carlos wanted to start selling pineapple juice. He could make up to three times more selling juice than he does selling whole pineapples, the hindrance was processor availability and processing time (it is done mostly by hand). Dr. Mattson also noted that he left Brazil with a lasting impression that assistance with fruit processing is one of the things that could most benefit the people of Itacoatiara.
During 4 months in 2013, my team developed a system with an optimized four-bar linkage. At the end of the semester, Dr. Mattson returned to the village with the prototypes from the class. We received some valuable feedback as a result of this trip. Following this course, I worked with Dr. Mattson and a couple of his graduate students to further develop this product. It evolved significantly in the next couple of months before Dr. Mattson again went to Brazil, this time with 24 units. The people loved it and many of the units were purchased. All of the unsold presses are still in the area being evaluated.