Influence of Cutting Angle on the Performance of an Orange Peeling Machine

Abstract

Growing demand for oranges for domestic and industrial uses requires a device that would peel the oranges at minimum cost, stress and time. Reduction in cost and stress can be meaningful only if the peeling time is minimised. Orange peeling machine was developed by taking into consideration effective choice of peeling tool component to enhance savings in peeling time. Tool holding system was made flexible to accommodate variation in set angles of the peeling cutter. Experimentation was done by carrying out peeling operation on five randomly sampled oranges under different set angles of peeling tool, ranging from 5^o to 45^o in step of 5^o, vertical to the cutting direction. Power consumed during the process was measured using power meter and the outcome was compared with the designed power, in order to determine the efficiency of the machine. The results indicated that smoothly peeled oranges are obtainable at cutting angles ranging between 15^o and 20^o. Lowest average time of peeling an orange to completion was 10.39s under a cutting angle of 20^o. The efficiency of the machine was estimated as 95%. This made it adequate for domestic and industrial use. The findings showed that cutting angle has influence on the peeling time and peeling smoothness.