<![CDATA[ABSTRACT Shrimp paste molder must be able to support shrimp paste’s home industry so that the industry can achieve the optimal production. This research was aimed to examine the effect of thread pitch on the shrimp paste molder performance. This research was conducted in October and December 2015 in the Laboratory of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra, Medan, using non factorial randomized block design with three levels, i.e. 4 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm. The parameters observed were effective capacity, yield, density of product and basic cost of production. Based on this research, it was summarized that thread pitch had significant effect on the effective capacity and yield, and had no significant effect on density of product. The best treatment was L3 (6 cm) which had effective capacity of 93.61kg/h, yield 76.86%, density of product was 0.581g/cm3 and the basic cost of production for the first to the fifth year were Rp.122.71/kg, Rp.123.02/kg, Rp.123.36/kg, Rp.123.72/kg, Rp.124.11/kg respectively. Keywords: shrimp paste, molder, thread pitch, performan ABSTRAK Alat pencetak terasi harus mampu mendukung industri rumah tangga yang bergerak dalam bidang terasi agar produksi dapat optimal. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh jarak antar puncak ulir kempa terhadap kinerja alat pencetak terasi. Waktu pelaksanaan penelitian ini adalah pada bulan Oktober hingga November 2015 di Laboratorium Keteknikan Pertanian, Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan. Metode penelitian menggunakan model rancangan acak lengkap non faktorial dengan taraf pengujian jarak puncak 4 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm. Parameter yang diamati adalah kapasitas efektif alat, persentase berat bahan tercetak, kerapatan massa hasil tercetak, dan biaya pokok. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perbedaan antar puncak ulir kempa memberikan pengaruh berbeda nyata terhadap kapasitas efektif alat dan persentase berat bahan tercetak serta memberikan pengaruh tidak berbeda nyata terhadap kerapatan massa hasil tercetak. Perlakuan terbaik untuk seluruh parameter yang diamati dari penelitian ini adalah taraf L3 (jarak puncak 6 cm) menghasilkan 93.61kg/jam, nilai persentase berat bahan tercetak 76.86%, kerapatan massa hasil tercetak 0.581g/cm3 dan biaya pokok tahun pertama hingga kelima berturut Rp.122.71/kg, Rp.123.02/kg, Rp.123.36/kg, Rp.123.72/kg, Rp.124.11/kg. Kata Kunci: terasi, alat pencetak, jarak puncak ulir, kinerja]]>
