The Production Process of SMEs Becomes More Effective Through the Innovation of a Drying Machine by the Faculty of Engineering Team

Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA—The Faculty of Engineering (FT) team at Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA) continues to increase its innovations to enhance the productivity of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in various regions. They recently created a herbal drying machine that is claimed to speed up the drying process from what used to take a day or even several days to just a few hours.

The machine was created by Muh. Fikri Haikal Ramadhani, Muh. Syarif Hidayatullah, and Moch. Rifan Aryanto. They were supervised by Agung Prijo Budijono, S.T., M.T. The supervising lecturer said that this innovation was made to speed up the production process of herbal medicine for MSMEs, making it more effective.

In the field, Agung continued, many herbal medicine MSMEs still use traditional methods, including drying materials that rely on sunlight. This process takes longer during the rainy season or cloudy weather. The production process can take even longer outside the summer season.

"It can only dry in a day if the weather is normal. If the weather is unpredictable, often cloudy or rainy, the drying process can take several days. This also affects the production process," he said.

The machine, which was designed in one month, has several benefits. First, it is more effective, taking only 4-6 hours. Second, the drying process is designed to be closed, making the results more hygienic.

Third, it can be used not only for drying herbal medicine but also for other materials or products such as crackers, chips, and so on. Fourth, the material storage capacity reaches 20 kg. Fifth, there is a temperature controller that can be adjusted.

The innovation is equipped with several main and supporting components such as indicator lights, a temperature controller, and a timer. This machine has 10 partitions that are claimed to accommodate a large capacity of materials in one operation.

"The use of this tool is quite easy by inserting the materials into the machine, pressing the power button, and setting the maximum temperature and time like using an oven," he said.