Low-Power Grass Chopping Machine Performance as an Authentic Project for Vocational Engineering Education

Abstract

Background and Objective: Vocational engineering education requires authentic projects that connect design, fabrication, measurement, testing, and evidence-based improvement, yet technical machine studies are rarely organized as reusable educational cases. This study evaluated a compact low-power grass chopping machine and examined its suitability as an authentic project case for vocational engineering education. Methods: An experimental engineering design was conducted from February to August 2026 using a FLASH-250G 1/4-HP motor, one 1.6-mm steel-plate blade, and a compact steel frame. Elephant, odot, and sansibar grass were tested at 1-5 kg loads. Rotational speed, chopping time, and post-chopping mass were recorded, and three test series were averaged for each condition; analysis was descriptive because run-level dispersion data were unavailable. Results: The machine completed all reported conditions at 2,457-2,978 rpm. Chopping time increased from approximately 2-3 minutes at 1 kg to approximately 10 minutes at 5 kg, with descriptive load-time slopes of 116.28-121.41 seconds/kg. Derived batch processing rates were approximately 22.49-29.37 kg/h. Conclusion: The prototype demonstrates functional feasibility under the reported conditions and provides a technically grounded authentic-project structure for vocational engineering learning in design, fabrication, measurement, safety, data interpretation, and redesign. Educational effectiveness was not tested and requires direct student-outcome evidence.