Track: Design

Abstract

Manual cutting and slicing of vegetables has proved to be very time consuming and is prone to the risk of contamination of the food leading to high rates of foodborne diseases. Various methods have been implemented in the process of size reduction of vegetables ranging from manual, electric and automated. The desire to make a design that simplifies, that saves time, that is relatively cheaper and efficienct during the process of size reduction of vegetables was the main scope of the whole project. The contaminant free products will be produced through the use of U.V light and this machine will incorporate U.V light as its integral component. The principle of operation of the machine is attached to the theory of rotating hollow discs. Experiments were conducted at the Department Laboratory and a force of 19.5N was obtained for the hardest vegetable. The machines available in Zimbabwe have posed to be very expensive while they are only availed abroad. The machine must always be used with caution since it has rotating elements. In conclusion, the objectives were met and the most importantly the cost was in the desired range hence acceptable to the market. From the cost analysis, the total price required for the vegetable cutter and slicer is $890.73.