Design and construction of a motorized leather shoe dyeing and polishing machine.

Abstract

Shoes are the most predominant products made from leather in Uganda. Other products include: footballs, handbags, belts; mats. After the economic hardship in the 1970s, charity organizations shipped in more second-hand clothes and shoes to Uganda and created at some point a surplus which subsequently turned into a big business. However, the processes of dyeing and polishing the -shoes are tedious and time consuming operations especially when at the same -time the shoe vendors are required to attend to the customers There are no machines in the market to do a complete Shoe dyeing and polishing. The available machines dye leather before it is formed into shoes and they are extremely bulky, hence can't be used by the vendors. Therefore, a machine to dye and polish leather shoes was designed and constructed in this project. The tests showed an efficiency of.420/o; the efficiency was this low due mechanical restrictions. Further improvements need to be done on. clamping of the shoes, method of application of the shoe polish and economizing the dye.