Development of indigenous yam pounding machine for home use

Pounded yam is a local delicacy rated as special food in Nigeria. It is always prepared using a local means – mortar and pestle. Due to development in technological advancement, the mechanical preparation of pounded yam at home using simple machine is imperative. Several efforts made on home-made devices for this purpose need more research and technology. This paper discussed an indigenous yam pounding machine developed by the Department of Agricultural and Bio-Environmental Engineering, Federal College of Agriculture Akure, Nigeria. It operated with principle of horizontal rotational milling of the yam by beater attached to the pounding chamber. The beater of mass 0.157 kg supplied force of 155 N at 1500 rpm, required for optimum pounding of the fed cooked yam. The maximum load of yam per batch of pounding is 11.9 kg. The machine has power rating of 1 hp while its capacity is 1.07 tons/hr. The testing of the machine revealed it as best operated at 1500 rpm to achieve pounding efficiency of 97%. This makes the machine a good home appliance for safe and effective pounded yam making