<![CDATA[Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) sap tapping still relies on manual trimming of the inflorescence stalk surface using a machete. Although rotary cutting devices have been studied for several agricultural materials, quantitative evidence for a low-cost handheld machine specifically designed for sugar palm inflorescence stalk trimming is still limited. This study designed, fabricated, and evaluated a portable low-energy rotary cutting machine that integrates a rotary disc blade, DC worm gear motor, worm gearbox, rechargeable lithium battery, and protective blade cover. The novelty of the study is the task-specific evaluation of cutting time, operational capacity, energy consumption, battery-based trimming capacity, and prototype cost for smallholder sap tapping. Manual and machine-assisted trimming were compared using 20 repetitions for each method. The average cutting time decreased from 22.4 ± 1.1 to 6.8 ± 0.6 s/stalk, corresponding to a 69.64% reduction and 3.29 times faster operation than manual trimming. Operational capacity increased from 160.7 to 529.4 stalks/hour. The machine operated at 10.8 V and 0.95 A, requiring 10.26 W and 0.0194 Wh/stalk. A fully charged 10.8 V, 4.8 Ah battery can theoretically support approximately 2675 trimming operations before complete drainage. The prototype material cost was Rp 433,000, equivalent to approximately USD 24.25 using an exchange rate of Rp 17,856/USD. The results indicate that the developed device is a feasible low-cost and low-energy mechanization option for repetitive sugar palm inflorescence stalk trimming.]]>
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