Development and evaluation of a machine for slicing African oil bean (pentaclethra macrophylla benth) seeds

Abstract

A manually operated machine for slicing African oil bean seeds was designed and fabricated as replacement of the traditional hand slicing technique, and to address the drudgery, time consuming and injuries associated with hand slicing. Geometric characteristics and physical dimensions of the beans were used as machine design para-meters. The machine consisted of a slicing unit, discharge unit and a handle. The performance of the machine was evaluated using freshly harvested seeds of sizes 7.93 to 9.72 mm moisture content (dry basis) of 10.5 to 50.9 %. The mean slice thickness was 3.18 ± 0.08 mm, and the maximum slicing efficiency was 85.8 % at 40.0 ± 0.2 % moisture content. The throughput capacity was 1.32 kg of sliced seeds per hour. Student  t-distribution test conducted on uniformity of the slicing thickness indicated that there was no significant difference in the thi-ckness compared with the expected value (i.e. null hypothesis was satisfied). The production cost of the machi-ne was estimated at N9,550 (US $64.00).