The ITS student team, led by M Aldi Nugroho, completed testing their designed automatic onion peeler and cutter

ITS Campus, ITS News –Improving efficiency is a crucial factor in the production process. Based on this, a team of students from Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) created an automatic onion peeler and cutter to improve production efficiency in the onion processing sector.

This automatic onion peeler and cutter is the innovative work of five ITS Industrial Chemical Engineering Department students. The team leader, M Aldi Nugroho, explained that this device utilizes a motor in the onion skin peeling process. “This motor will make the onions in the machine touch each other and make the epidermis peel off,” the young man, who is familiarly called Aldi, explained.

Furthermore, according to Aldi, the automatic onion peeler and cutter will use water flow to separate the previously peeled onion skin. Aldi disclosed that, in order to reduce water usage, the device is also furnished with a circulation pump, allowing for the reuse of water.

The design of the automatic onion peeler and cutter device created by the team of ITS students

After the onion skin separation process is complete, Aldi added, this device will take the onions to the final process, which is the cutting process. To adapt to user needs, the team, directly supervised by lecturer Daril Ridho Yusrillah ST MT, equipped this device with an adjustable thickness feature for cutting results. “The thickness of onion cutting in this device can be adjusted to 1, 2, or 3 millimeters,” Aldi explained.

On the other hand, Aldi said that this device is also equipped with several other technologies, including a Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery and a proximity sensor. The VRLA battery in this device functions as backup power if there is a power failure at any time. “With this VRLA battery, this device can be used for two hours,” Aldi disclosed.

Furthermore, Aldi conveyed that the proximity sensor is used to detect the tank volume on the device. The aim is to enable the machine to stop the process if the sensor detects that the tank on the device has exceeded its capacity. “This device can hold up to five kilograms of onions, and the process takes four minutes per kilogram,” he added.

The process of making an automatic onion peeler and cutter by the team of ITS students

Aldi said that the target consumers for the device prepared over the past year are business people who carry out a lot of onion peeling and cutting processes, for example, fried onion businesses and caterers. The presence of this device will increase the efficiency and productivity of the business.

Through this innovation, Aldi and his team have successfully won a bronze medal at the 36th National Student Scientific Week for the presentation category in the Student Creativity Program-Innovative Works (PKM-KI). Not only that, Aldi also revealed that his team plans to develop this device by establishing a startup. “This startup will later operate in the field of onion processing, especially for peeling and cutting,” he concluded. (ITS Public Relations)

Reporter: Muhammad Fadhil Alfaruq

Translator: Alya Farah Nabila