DEVELOPMENT OF GROUNDNUT COATING MACHINE

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) is an annual leguminous crop, a staple food in many parts of the world which especially motorist and travelers, office workers and students eat and it provides an important source of nutrition. However, there are several issues associated with groundnut coating processing which ranging from time consuming, stressful and laborious, poor quality and irregular coating with ingredients to enhance their taste. This research therefore focus on improving the development of a low cost groundnut coating machine that will eliminate more of the identify problems. The development of a groundnut coating machine with an electric motor of 40 watts with speed of 50 rpm and capacity of 0.66 hp, transmitting power through speed reduction gear 0.25 kw with speed 280 rpm,to coating basin ϕ240/ϕ183. The rotating shaft, 25 mm, supported with pivot bearing 60/30 mm, external and internal diameter.2 mm angular bar was used for the construction of the mainframe and mild steel plate was used in fabricating the cover. The coating basin was constructed with stainless steel plate of gauge 8 mm. This design was withquality materials to enhance the performance of the groundnut coating machine. The components were joined using the principles of the mechanics of machine (PMM). The machine was assembled and its performance evaluation was conducted, by coating groundnut and cassava flour (0.8kg /1 kg). Two different size of egg (0.014kg and 0.012kg) with the coating speed of 50 rpm, coating time of 30min. Coated groundnut was obtained with the efficiency of 80%. A groundnut coating machine was developed for coating of groundnut with flour, egg and oil, its performance evaluation has shown that the stress in coating would be reduced by 80%. The groundnut coating machine is recommended in the food processing by a small scale production. The research will create an opportunity for a small scale food processing to have access to an affordable machine for their business, which will expand their business and increase income.