2.2 Working principleThe slider-cra

2.2 Working principleThe slider-crank mechanism drove the conical hopper to reciprocate up and down. When the hopper was at the highest position, the hybrid garlic seed entered the hopper, and then the hopper moved downward to enter water at a certain speed, and the water in the tank entered the hopper. The garlic seed changed its posture by the combined action of its gravity, the supporting force of hopper inner wall, the impact force of water and the buoyancy force with the garlic scaly buds facing up.2.3Design of key components2.3.1Design of conical hopperThe conical hopper was an important part to hold garlic seeds and complete automatic orientation of garlic seeds. The opening was designed at the bottom of the hopper, so it facilitated water to enter the hopper and achieved the purpose of automatic orientation of the garlic seeds. On the other hand, the upper part of the hopper was designed with a mounting groove which could be quickly installed on the square tube of the hopper carrier to meet the test requirements for easy assembly and disassembly. In order to reduce the load of the device and ensure the strength of the hopper, the size of the hopper was designed as: length 81 mm; width 81 mm; height varies with taper between 76 mm-160 mm; thickness 1 mm; installation slot spacing was 13 mm. The conical hopper was made of photosensitive resin material by 3D printing, and the three-dimensional model was shown in Fig.2.