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Fabrication of Potato Slicer
Fabrication of Potato Slicer
Fabrication of Potato Slicer
Potato is a major food crop, grown in more than 100 countries in the world. According to FAO, potato is consumed by more than one billion people in the world. It is a high quality vegetable cum food crop and used in preparing more than 100 types of recipes. The protein content of potato has a high biological value than cereals and considered to be better than milk. Hence, potato is supplementing meat and milk products by lowering energy intake and also by reducing food cost. Potato ( solanum tuberosum L.) popularly known as The king of vegetables, has emerged as fourth most important food crop in India after rice, wheat and maize. Indian vegetable basket is incomplete without potato. Potato is a nutritionally superior vegetable due to its edible energy and edible protein. It has become an integral part of breakfast, lunch and dinner among the larger population. Being a short duration crop, it produces more quantity of dry matter, edible energy and wheat. Hence, Potato is considered to be an important crop to achieve nutritional security of the nation. 1.1 Origin of Potato South America is known to be native of Potato. In 1537, the Spaniards first came into contact with Potato in one of the villages of Andes. In Europe, Potato was introduced between 1580 A.D. to 1585 A.D. in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. In India it was introduced by the Portuguese sailors during early 17th century and its cultivation was spread to North India during the British period.(Bhajantri-2011) 1.2 Potato Production in the World Potato is grown in more than 100 countries in the world. China ranks first, followed by Russia and India. China, India, USA, Ukraine, Germany and Poland put together constitute more than 62 per cent of the total global production. Top Potato producing countries in the world are tabulated in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Top Potato producing countries in the World Production (Lakh Metric Country Tonnes) Per centage 26.39 17.24 15.92 10.20 9.76 5.38 4.80 4.09 3.13 3.09 100 CHINA 570.60 RUSSIA FEDERATION 372.70 INDIA 344.00 UKRAINE 220.62 UNITED STATES 210.97 GERMANY 116.24 POLAND 103.69 BELARUS 88.50 NETHERLANDS 67.77 FRANCE 66.80 TOTAL 2161.90 Source: Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Table 1.2 State wise production of Potato in India Sl.No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. STATES Production.(000 t) U.P. 9821.7 WEST BENGAL 7076.6 PUNJAB 1338.1 GUJARAT 1088.7 BIHAR 1062.8 MADHYA PRADESH 752.6 ASSAM 589.1 KARNATAKA 361.0 HARYANA 323.9 UTTARANCHAL 261.2 TOTAL 22675.7 Source: Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) 1.3 Potato Production in India In India, Potato is cultivated in almost all states under diverse agro-climatic conditions. About 85 per cent of Potatoes are cultivated in Indo-Gangetic plains of North India. The states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Bihar and Gujarat accounted for more than 80 percent share in total production. The state wise production of Potato is furnished in Table 1.2. Per centage 43.31 31.21 5.90 4.80 4.69 3.32 2.60 1.59 1.43 1.15 100
1.4 Potato processing Potato processing is very old and has been practiced in the highland of Peru-Bolivia for 2000 years by the Inca Indians who created chuno and papa seca, the naturally freeze dried and dried forms of potato. In India, Potato processing on commercial scale was first started by Col. Rennick in 1911, who established a factory at Narkanda in Himachal Pradesh to produce Potato meal. The demand for processed potato is likely to increase in India due to increased urbanization, preference for fast foods, rising per capita income and because of increase demand for convenience food. The most popular processed products are chips and French fries. Processing is mainly confined to developed countries with the exception of CHINA (12%), KOREA (6%), and MEXICO (8%). In India, processing of Potatoes constitutes less than 0.5 per cent of the annual production. With the growing realization that processed Potatoes fetch considerable higher returns than fresh Potatoes, processing activity is likely to look up sharply in the coming years. In Punjab, production of potatoes has increase to 2001100 tones in 2008-09 from 1338100 tones in 2003-04. Due to the bumper crop and lack of post harvest management, glut situation risen in the market leading to distress sale by farmers. Therefore keeping in view the increasing popularity & production of this crop in the state where 344 cold stores having a capacity of 1097606 tones are unable to handle and store the produce. there is a need to go for efficient mechanization i.e. making available the small scale and cheap processing machines to the farmers for small scale processing. The most widely use of Potato, as a processed commodity is Potato chips (slices). So, to avoid gluts and the consequent difficulties in handling of the Potato crop by a farmer, a study was conducted with the objectives: 1. To fabricate low cost small potato slicer. 2. To evaluate the performance of fabricated slicer.
simple for ease of operation and maintenance. The machine was tested with replicated experimental runs using 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 g of okra. The thickness of the slices (about 10 mm) corresponds evenly to the spacing of the cutting discs. The machine has a slicing efficiency of about 77.4% and throughput of about 8.4 kg/h. Megan (2008) developed Slicer featuring simplified controls, improved geometry, an enhanced carriage design and other innovations that make it easier to use and clean and deliver improved slice quality. With a 50-degree cutting plane and glass-bead-finished gauge plate and top knife cover, the slicers have a smoother glide against the knife while improving visibility of the sliced product. A lighter tray makes repeated loading and unloading easier. Neidhardt (2008) developed the tomato slicer, equipped with a disposable blade cartridge. Features include Razor-sharp blades cut with trouble-free precision, thanks to a unique self lubricating track material that resists misalignment problems that cause nicks and broken blades. Vertical handle and protective guards improve user comfort and safety. Aziz et al (2011) developed Slicing machine for fresh cut Pineapple. Intensive research had been conducted in developing a suitable slicing machine to cater for the needs of the local pineapple processors. The development of the slicing machine was based on two systems, namely rotary and centrifugal type working condition. This paper emphasizes machine development and its operating system. At normal rate, the slicing machine is capable of processing 360 fruits per hour. The slicing machine is easy to operate, of simple design, cost effective and easy to clean. 2.2. Peeling machines for various fruits and vegetables Ali et al (1991) developed an abrasive brush type ginger peeling machine. It consisted of 2 continuous vertical abrasive belts with a 32 gauge steel wire brush. The brush wires were 2 cm high and spacing 1.9cm interval and peeling zone was 135 cm long and 30 cm wide. The machine operated satisfactorily with peeling efficiency of about 85% and capacity 200 kg/h. Srivastava et al (1992) designed an onion peeling machine and tested for pungent Michigan onions. The machine used an approach of employing four scouring blades
asserted by compressed air jet to make four mutually perpendicular slits in the outer layer of onion skin. Average peeling capacity of about 750 kg/hr was estimated. Singh et al (1995) designed a power operated batch type potato peeler for the processing of potatoes and evaluated its performance. The main part of the machine are a peeling drum with protrusions on the inside surface rotates and detaches peel from potatoes by abrasion . The capacity of the machine is 100kg/h with a peeling efficiency of and peel losses of 78% and 6% respectively. The machine is suitable for small scale processor of potato chips and other products. Sheriff et al (1995) studied performance of model power operated cassava peeler, developed at the Tamilnadu Agricultural University, India at 5 different rotor speeds (950, 1000, 1150, 1400, 2000 rpm) with size sorted and unsorted tubes. Peeling efficiency and capacity increased with the speed of rotor. The optimum capacity of the effectiveness of the peeling was 544 kg/h, 59.33%, and 0.57 respectively. Aggarwal et al (1999) developed a small, manually operated ginger peeling machine for application at individual farmers level. It operated on the principle of abrasive peeling. The peeling efficiency could be increased and losses reduced by eye treatment of ginger before peeling. At full capacity operation, the machine had a peeling efficiency of 71% with losses 1.3%. Lin et al (2003) developed a papaya peeling machine by adapting the structures of air pressure, sliding stretch and active peer knife-edge. The machine consisted of units, including auto feeder, indexing Geneva, transplant, waste product and delivery mechanism. Peeler could be operated by one papaya fruit on the V-shape feeder, the peeler can finish the peeling motion automatically. It could peel 2000-2500 green papaya fruits within 8 hr. 2.3. Cutting and trimming machines for various fruits and vegetables Jarimopas et al (2007) researched for the purpose to design, construct, and evaluate a prototype machine for opening young coconut fruit. The design concept was that a trimmed coconut could be opened by causing a small sharp knife to gradually move and shear off a circular section of the husk and shell at the top of the rotating fruit. The prototype consisted of a fruit holder, a height control mechanism, a knife and its feed controller, and a power transmission system. In operation, the small stainless-steel knife slowly penetrates through the husk and shell of the turning fruit in a direction
approximately perpendicular to its surface. The rotation of the fruit causes the husk and shell to be cut by the sharp edge of the knife, which results in the formation of a circular opening at the top of the fruit. In this study, the key design parameters and their operation settings were determined as follows: the angle between the knife and the rotating plane (horizontal) was 50; the angle between the knife cutting edge and the tangential line to the circular opening was 50; the knife feeding speed was 50 mm/min; and the fruit rotation speed was 80 rpm. Based on these design parameters, a commercial prototype was manufactured and tested. The prototype had the capacity to open an item of fruit at an average time of 30 s. A 58mm-diameter opening was cut and a mean 0.2% of the juice was spilled, while the juice that remained contained 0.2 g of fine pieces of shell and husk. The mechanically opened coconuts were well received by consumers. Nahrungsmi (2008) developed an extruder for food paste has a cutting device attached to the nozzle head. At least one, but pref. four revolving cutter blades are revolved by a toothed belt in synchronism and more with a slight clearance ahead of the nozzle outlet. Gave (2008) developed a vegetable cutter which uses 40 different cutting discs to replicate most hand-cutting styles. Features include a large hopper opening, -hp geardriven motor, stainless-steel body and base, removable hopper head, and a food pusher, which has antimicrobial protection. Suryanto et al (2009) developed a chopper for chopping the bunches of palm into small pieces using knife blades and an experimental cylinder-type chopping machine. The knife edge angle had a significant effect on the specific cutting force and the cutting energy. For the impact cutting, the specific torque requirement was affected by the peripheral cutting speed. Increasing the speed from 5.3 to 14.3 m s-1 reduced the cutting torque by 14.3%. An experimental chopping machine with a capacity of 3540 kg h-1 has been developed and tested for the empty fruit bunches. Jarimopas et al (2009) developed a prototype automatic young coconut fruit trimming machine. The mechanism used features a sharp inclined knife which operates in translation motion in a vertical plane to trim the fruit, which is clamped tightly and rotates about a vertical axis. Machine components include a main frame, a body-trimming station,
a shoulder-trimming station, a base-cutting station, a rotary base, three fruit holders, an electrical connection slip ring, a power drive and programmable electronic control. In experiments, the untrimmed fruit was continuously fed into three separate fruit holders. These in turn conveyed the coconut through the body-trimming, shoulder-trimming and base-cutting stations. The fruit holders continuously 8raveled in a circle encompassing every station in sequence. Optimal settings included (a) feeding rate of 86 fruit h1, (b) 300 rpm rotation of the trimmed fruit, and (c) a shoulder knife height of 180 mm. Average loss rates were 0.35%, for the fibrous area, 2.5% for fruit damage and 14.5% for the untrimmed green area. The optimally trimmed fruit was accepted by growers and traders.
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3.1.4. Drive mechanism A 50 Hz 1/70hp A.C. single phase cooler fan motor was used for giving the drive to the machine with the help of motor shaft and bush (welded on the slicing element) arrangement (figure 3.5). A simple regulator used in coolers was used to regulate the speed of the motor. Specifications of motor are Power = 45 watts Current = 0.35 amp 3.1.5. Frame A cubical frame of mild steel and wood was fabricated. Motor was fitted on the top of the frame using clamp (figure 3.6). Two holes were made on the top wooden base: one at centre to allow the motor shaft to pass through it and another at a side for feeding Potato on the slicing element (figure 3.7). Dimensions of frame are Length x Breadth x Height = 0.4 x 0.4 x 0.4 3.1.6. Bushing brackets A bushing bracket was used to fit motor shaft to solid disc slicing element and also to the single blade slicing element (figure 3.8). Bush was made from a piece of solid pipe of diameter = 24 mm by drilling a hole of 13mm in it. After machine was assembled, it was tested to see its effectiveness for slicing. 3.2. Testing of machine For testing the effectiveness of the machine, potatoes of average size (length x width x thickness = 6.5 x 4.8 x 3.6) were fed into the machine using both types of slicing elements. The machine was operated at three different speeds in both the cases. A sample of 1 kg potatoes were fed at each speed and time of slicing operation was noted, respectively. To evaluate the efficiency, weight of full slices, weight of broken slices( of round slices), weight of potato not sliced, weight of waste left in the receiving chamber, number of slices and thickness of slices was noted down. The sliced potatoes were put in the boiling water for three minutes and immediately thereafter in chilled water. After this slices were dried in a tray drier at 65 degree Celsius for 13 hours.
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3.3. Performance evaluation of slicing machine Performance of machine was estimated by weighing different fraction of sliced, partially sliced, potato not sliced and losses. Percentage of various fractions were obtained by using following formulas: Percentage of unbroken potato slices = (Weight of unbroken slices / Total weight of potatoes fed) x 100 3.1 Percentage of broken slices = (Weight of broken slices / Total weight of potatoes fed) x 100 3.2 Percentage of potato not sliced = (Weight of unsliced potato / Total weight of potatoes fed) x 100 3.3 Percentage of potato waste in receiving chamber = (Weight of potato waste in receiving chamber / Total weight of potatoes fed) x 100 3.4
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Figure 3.10 Slicing of potatoes using solid disc with two blades
Figure 3.11 Potato slices by using solid disc with two blades
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rpm at regulator knob position 1. The speed dropped in the range between 1436 and 1454 rpm. This reduction in the speed reduced the capacity of the machine. 254 number of full potato slices were obtained at 1458 rpm and 161 number of same were at 1473 rpm. This reduction in number of slices with increase in speed of the slicing element could be due to improper feeding or due to difference in relative speed of the fall of potato into the feed hole and speed with which blade strike the potato during slicing. The broken slices, weighing 0.426 kg, were obtained at 1473 rpm and minimum of same, weighing 0.254 kg, were obtained at 1458 rpm. At each rotor speed 1 kg of potatoes was sliced and respective time taken for slicing was noted down with maximum of 16.61 seconds at 1458 rpm and minimum of 12.33 seconds at 1473. This time excludes the time taken for picking and fixing the potato in the feed holder till it reaches the feed hole. Average weight of potato not sliced at three different speeds was came out to be 0.088 kg. This is because some proportion of a potato got left in the feed holder during slicing operation. This could be due to improper feeding mechanism. The average waste potato left in the receiving chamber was come out to be 0.122 kg. The reason behind this loss is that the potatoes should be fed with continuous application of pressure with one hand on the feed holder. So due to improper pressure application, potato doesnt get sliced properly and this accounts for the losses. Towards the end, from this experiment, for the maximum efficiency of the machine, we can work out different parameters as follow: Average weight of one potato slice = 1.905 g Number of slices that should be produced per minute by machine at 1436 rpm with two blades = 1436 x 2 = 2872 Therefore, potential capacity based on the operating speed of the machine = 2872 x 1.905 = 5.471 kg/min Average weight of the potato = 70.4 g Average time taken for slicing of one potato = 1.05 sec Theoretical capacity of machine working without any halt with continuous feed = (70.4/1.05) x 3600 = 241371.4 g/h = 241.371 kg/h Average weight of full slices and broken slices from one potato = 57 g Average weight of potato not sliced with respect to one potato = 6 g Average weight of potato waste left in receiving chamber per potato = 7.4 g
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Theoretical efficiency of the machine working without any halt with continuous feed = (57/70.4) x 100 = 80.9 % Average number of slices per kg of Potato = 254 Average thickness of slices before drying = 2.01 mm Average thickness of slices after drying = 1.03 mm Capacity of the machine based on operators potato slicing efficiency = 36 kg/h It was observed that on visual basis, size of the potato slices after drying was comparable to the potato slices being sold in the market. So this machine can be efficiently used for commercial purpose. Further, a mechanical pressurized feed mechanism can be provided to the machine in order to increase its efficiency and capacity, both at the same time if cost of fabrication can be compromised. 4.2.2 Slicing using single blade type slicing element Table 4.2 and 4.4 indicate the results of the slicing experiment using single blade type slicing element. Machine was operated at three different rpm. as per the regulator capacity. A variation of speed with load and no load at different regulator knob position was seen. The maximum speed with no load condition was 1480 rpm at regulator knob position 3 and minimum for same was 1463 rpm at regulator knob position 1 while maximum speed with load condition was 1470 rpm at regulator knob position 3 and minimum for same was 1456 rpm at regulator knob position 1. The speed dropped in the range between 1470 and 1456 rpm. This reduction in the speed reduced the capacity of the machine. At each rotor speed 1 kg of potatoes was sliced and respective time taken for slicing was noted down with maximum of 104 seconds and minimum of 93 seconds. This time excludes the time taken for picking and fixing the potato in the feed holder till it reaches the feed hole. 418 number of full potato slices were obtained at 1463 rpm and 288 number of same were obtained at 1472 rpm. This reduction in number of slices with increase in speed of the slicing element could be due to improper feeding or due to difference in relative speed of the fall of potato into the feed hole and speed with which blade strike the potato during slicing. The broken slices, weighing 0.313 kg, were obtained at 1480 rpm and 0.209 kg, were obtained at 1463 rpm. Average weight of potato not sliced at three different speeds was came out to be 0.268 kg. This is because some proportion of a
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potato got left in the feed holder during slicing operation. This could be due to improper feeding mechanism. The average waste potato left in the receiving chamber was come out to be 0.137kg. Towards the end, from this experiment we can work out different parameters as follow: Theoretical capacity of machine calculated = 34.951 kg/h Efficiency of the machine =53.7 % Average no. of slices per kg of Potato = 418 Average thickness range of slices before drying = 0.6 - 4.4 mm Average thickness range of slices after drying = 0.04 2.1 mm It was observed that efficiency of whole operation was dependent on operators skill that how precisely and efficiently an operator gave the feed to the machine. If operator gives the feed with minimum of force buy hand then minimum will be the thickness of the potato slice or if feed is given maximum pressure then maximum will be the thickness of potato slice. So without an automatic mechanical feeding mechanism, this machine can not be used for slicing operation with single blade type slicing element, otherwise it will lead to heavy losses.
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Table 4.1 Observations using solid disc with two blades Regulator R.P.M. Position With No Load 1 2 3 1458 1468 1473 1436 1443 1454 R.P.M. With Load Weight Of potatoes (kg) 1 1 1 Time Taken For Slicing (sec) 16.61 15.14 12.33 Number Of unbroken potato slices 254 181 161 Full potato slices (kg) 0.542 0.389 0.356 Broken potato slices (kg) 0.254 0.403 0.426 Potato not sliced (kg) 0.102 0.069 0.092 Waste left in the receiving chamber (kg) 0.102 0.139 0.126
Table 4.2 Observations using single blade slicing element Regulator R.P.M. Position With No Load 1 2 3 1463 1472 1480 1456 1463 1470 R.P.M. With Load Weight Of potatoes (kg) 1 1 1 Time Taken For Slicing (sec) 103 104 93 Number Of unbroken potato slices 418 288 360 Full potato slices (kg) 0.328 0.288 0.391 Broken potato slices (kg) 0.209 0.288 0.313 Potato not sliced (kg) 0.328 0.288 0.188 Waste left in the receiving chamber (kg) 0.134 0.137 0.141
Table 4.3 Performance of slicing machine with solid disc type slicing element
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Regulator Position
R.P.M. Load
1 2 3
1 1 1
Table 4.4 Performance of slicing machine with single blade type slicing element Regulator Position R.P.M. With No Load R.P.M. Load With Weight potatoes (kg) Of Full Potato Slices (%) 1 2 3 1463 1472 1480 1456 1463 1470 1 1 1 32.8 28.8 39.1 Broken potato slices (%) 20.9 28.8 31.3 Potato not sliced (%) 32.8 28.8 18.8 Waste left in the receiving chamber (%) 13.4 13.7 14.1
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P41-P71 (9607.31) *DE 3515616-A A23P l/12// A21C 11112 86.04. I7 86JP502224 86.04.17 86 WO-EP00228 Previous Publ. JP62502658W Based on WO8606327-A (Ger). Neidhardt J C (2008) Development of Tomato slicer. Journal of Fujian Agricultural science and Technology 3: 16-17. Obeng G Y (2004) Development of mechanized plantain slicer. Journal of Science and Technology Vol.: 24, No.: 2, 2004 [Page 126-133]. Owolarafe K, Muritala O A, Ogunsina B S (2007) Development of an Okra slicing device. Journal of Food Science and Technology Vol.: 44, No.: 4, 2007 [Page 426-429]. Sheriff J T, Kurup G T and Nanda S K (1995) Performance evaluation of a cassava peeling machine. Journal of Root crops 21(1): 30-35. Singh K K, Shukla B D (1995) Designing of poer operated batch type potato peeler.PHTC, Agricultural and Food Engineering Department, India Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India. Srivastava A, Vanea , Ledebuhr R, Welch D and Wang L (1977) Design and development of an onion peeling machine. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 13(2): 167-173. Suryanto H, Ahmed D, Yahya A, Akande F B, Syahrita K (2009) Cutting Tests of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches. Transactions of the American Society for Agricultural & Biological Engineering Vol.: 52, No.: 3, [Page 723-726].
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