The Effects of Blade Coatings on Force Demand When Pruning Grape

Abstract

The effects of different blade coating materials on force demands were examined in the present study. The force demands when cutting grape branches with St-52 steel, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-coated and Soft Teflon (STP)-coated lopper blades were measured. A universal testing machine was used as the simulated cutting task together with a force cell in the laboratory. Grape branches were the testing material. The differences between the force demands of blades were significant (P<0.01). The PTFE-coated blade resulted in a 30.69% and 25.63% lower average force compared to the STP-coated blade and ST52 steel-surfaced blades for the 6-9 mm diameter sample group respectively. When the other diameter group is examined for the same materials, the PTFE-coated blade resulted in a 17.76% and 13.82% lower average force respectively. Also, a PTFE-coated blade was obtained for both diameter groups at the smallest energy value. The differences between the energy demands of lopper blades were significant (P<0.05).