Design and fabrication of a motorized potato slicing machine for Teso farmers.

Abstract

Sweet potato which is ranked 7th among food crops consumed in the world, is one of the major food crops grown in Teso region. During periods of much production, there is need for the excess to be preserved. This calls for slicing which is mainly done using rudimentary tools which is tedious, non-uniform, prone to injuries and low output. Their different types of manual and electric slicers on market but most of them produce chips which are not desired by the farmers because upon drying they break into small pieces. Therefore, this study aimed at designing and constructing a motorized sweet potato slicing machine that will produce uniform slices, increase output and maintain quality. It avoids direct contact of the operator with the cutting mechanism. The slicer was designed with 70% efficiency and capacity of 1kg/min. Key words: sweet potato, slicing machine, output capacity, slicing efficiency.