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Design and test analysis of a rotary cutter device for root cutting of golden needle mushroom

Summary

Scientists developed a new high-speed rotary cutting machine specifically designed for harvesting golden needle mushrooms efficiently and gently. The machine uses a specially angled blade that slides through the delicate mushroom stems rather than crushing them, resulting in cleaner cuts and less damage. Testing showed this new design cuts the required cutting force in half and uses significantly less energy compared to existing methods.

Background

Golden needle mushrooms (Flammulina velutipes) are economically important crops rich in vitamins, amino acids, and health-promoting compounds. Current harvesting methods rely heavily on manual labor due to the mushroom’s delicate nature, flexibility, and variable cluster morphology, limiting mechanization and efficiency in the industry.

Objective

To design and optimize a novel high-speed rotary cutter device with a sliding-cutting angle blade for mechanized root cutting of golden needle mushrooms, addressing issues of poor harvesting efficiency, unsatisfactory cutting performance, and high energy consumption in existing machinery.

Results

Optimal cutter parameters were identified as: sliding cutting angle of 26°, cutting edge angle of 15°, and thickness of 2 mm. Best operational parameters were: cutting speed of 1400 r/min, turntable feed speed of 6 r/min, and cutting height of 20 mm. The new design reduced cutting force by 39.4% and unit area power consumption by 24.5% while improving cutting flatness.

Conclusion

The designed rotary cutter device with optimized sliding-cutting angle blade effectively addresses key technical challenges in mechanized harvesting of golden needle mushrooms, providing significant improvements in cutting efficiency, quality, and energy consumption compared to conventional methods.
  • Published in:Scientific Reports,
  • Study Type:Engineering Design and Experimental Study,
  • Source: PMID: 41136535, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-21155-7
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