Brian Raafi’u SST MT with the automatic krupuk dryer made by his supervised student team

ITS Campus, ITS News – The traditional process of drying krupuk by the heat of sunlight is still widely practiced in the community. That traditional practice is considered very vulnerable because of frequent weather changes. Overcoming these problems, the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Kuliah Kerja Nyata (KKN) team tried to make an automatic krupuk drying machine to increase fish-based krupuk production.

The KKN Team’s supervisor, Brian Raafi’u SST MT, revealed that the innovation carried out by his supervised KKN student team started from a concern about the lack of maximum fish-based krupuk production from Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises or MSMEs. The MSME’s helped by the team was the squid-based krupuk MSMEs in Kampung Wringinputih, Muncar, Banyuwangi. “The Covid-19 pandemic also deteriorated the situation, especially in terms of procurement of goods and access to production,” he said.

The krupuk making process, especially the drying process, still has a high dependence on solar heat. However, the heating source for the drying process can be made cost-effective with a touch of modern technology. “And certainly it can accelerate the drying process of the krupuk without thinking about the changing weather,” explained the lecturer at the ITS Instrumentation Engineering Department.

Automatic Krupuk Drying Machine à la ITS KKN Team

Together with the KKN Team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Instrumentation Engineering, and the Department of Engineering Physics, an automatic krupuk drying machine with easily available components was developed. “Even this tool can be made from used wood which of course is cost-effective as a drying tool,” explained Brian.

The used wood must be coated with aluminum foil to maintain the temperature and humidity level of the automatic krupuk dryer. It shows that the krupuk drying machine is designed to be easily made by the community. “Later, ITS will sell an automatic control system that can be included in a microcontroller with an affordable cost,” he added.

This automatic krupuk dryer is also made with the principle of utilizing a Peltier heating element with heat conversion from the incandescent lamp through automatic touch control on the fan and a scheduling system. “So that the krupuk business owner can confirm how long it takes to dry the crackers,” added the man from Banyuwangi.

The main component of the automatic krupuk drying machine

The automatically controlled technology that measures temperature and humidity is also included in this drying machine. That technology can reduce the water content contained in the krupuk automatically. Furthermore, instruments, components, and raw materials that are very easy to find by the community are the advantages of this tool. “The drying box, heating element, and sensor are very easy to find because they are often used in everyday life,” he said.

He added that the development of this tool in the future is to increase the control of the drying system so that it can be much faster and more stable. Also, there will be additional implementations using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology that can be reached by MSMEs. “Hopefully in the future, these MSMEs can enjoy this technology and can make their own through easily available equipment,” he concluded. (sep / nadh / ITS Public Relations)