Design, construction and performance evaluation of a cucumber slicing machine

Abstract

The cucumber slicing machine was designed, constructed and it is performance was evaluated. The major components of the slicing machine are the power unit, slicing compartment, knife compartment, collecting vessel were all fabricated and mounted on the machine. The performance parameters of the machine such as slicing efficiency, percentage loss, and output capacity were evaluated. T-test was used to compare the mean values of these parameters for manual and mechanical slicing. The average efficiency of the manual and mechanical slicing was found to be 71.84 % and 90.0 % respectively. The average percentage loss of the manual and mechanical slicing was found to be 5.5 % and 14.08 % respectively. The average output capacity of the manual and mechanical slicing was found to be 30 kg/hr and 165.60 kg/hr respectively. The efficiency of manual slicing is significantly higher than mechanical slicing. However, the mean value for mechanical percentage losses and output capacity is significant than manual slicing.