Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is one of the main grains of a domesticated species native to the high Andean plains and valleys. Because its harvests do not always have a homogeneous color, some companies have been using sorting machines for quinoa that are adapted from other cereals, whose operation does not guarantee the desired efficiency. The purpose of the study was to design and build a prototype machine that classifies quinoa grains according to the desired color. The main parts of the machine include the design of the mechanical structure comprising three zones: feeding, transport and processing and storage. The parts were built with steel materials and some parts with PLA filament manufactured with 3D printer; electronic control system, using a microcontroller for adapting the IR sensor signal and controlling the electro actuators for the selection of homogeneous quinoa according t...

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is one of the main grains of a domesticated species native to the high Andean plains and valleys. Because its harvests do not always have a homogeneous color, some companies have been using sorting machines for quinoa that are adapted from other cereals, whose operation does not guarantee the desired efficiency. The purpose of the study was to design and build a prototype machine that classifies quinoa grains according to the desired color. The main parts of the machine include the design of the mechanical structure comprising three zones: feeding, transport and processing and storage. The parts were built with steel materials and some parts with PLA filament manufactured with 3D printer; electronic control system, using a microcontroller for adapting the IR sensor signal and controlling the electro actuators for the selection of homogeneous quinoa according t...