Development and Performance Evaluation of a Multi-Crop Slicing Machine

Abstract

This study aims to develop an efficient, portable and ergonomically safe multi-crop slicing machine that can be affordable to small-scale entrepreneurs, evaluate its performance, and determine its slicing efficiency and throughput capacity at different operation speeds. Some of the machine’s major components include the mainframe, outlet, hopper, slicing unit, slicing disc, pulley, electric motor base and bearing. The machine is powered by a single phase and 1hr electric motor. The performance of the machine was conducted with three selected crops (banana, cucumber and carrots); grouped into three categories, namely minimum-sized samples (35 – 54 mm), medium-sized samples (55 – 65mm) and maximum-sized (65 – 75mm); at five machine speeds of 26, 38, 42, 55 and 65rpm. The parameters determined were slicing efficiency and throughput capacity. Results showed that the highest mean slicing efficiency of 87% was attained by the machine when slicing minimum-size cucumbers at a rotational speed of 55 rpm, while the machine attained the lowest mean slicing efficiency of 58% for slicing maximum-sized cucumbers at a rotational speed of 65 rpm. The throughput capacities from the machine were affected by the slicing speeds, which ranged between 21.45 kg/hr to 42.90 kg/hr. The constructed machine demonstrated ability to slice all the selected crops satisfactorily.