Fabrication Of Yam Pounding Machine

1.1.1 MAJOR CULTIVATED SPECIES
Yam, a tropical crop in the genus Dioscorea, has as many as 600 species out of which six are economically important staple species. These are:
Dioscorea rotundata (white guinea yam), Dioscorea alata (yellow yam), Dioscorea bulbifera (aerial yam). Dioscorea esculent (Chinese yam) and Dioscorea dum etroum (trifoliarte yam). Out of these, Dioscorea rotundata (white yam) and Dioscorea alata (water yam) are the most common species in Nigeria. Yams are grown in the coastal region in rain forests, wood savanna and southern savanna habitats.
Yam is in the class of roots and tubers that is a staple of the Nigerian and West African diet, which provides some 200 calories of energy per capita daily. In Nigeria, in many yam producing areas, it is said that “yam is food and food is yam”. However, the production of yam in Nigeria is substantially short and cannot meet the growing demand at its present level of use. It also has an important social status in gatherings and religious functions, which is assessed by the size of yam holdings one possesses.

1.1.2 NATIONAL VALUE
Yams are primary agricultural commodities and major staple crops in Africa, where yam cultivation began 11,000 years ago. In West Africa they are major sources of income and have high cultural value. They are used in marriage ceremonies, and a festival is held annually to celebrate its harvest.
Consumers’ demand for yam is generally very high in this sub-region and yam cultivation is very profitable despite high production costs.
1.2    PROBLEM STATEMENT
The edible yams are root crop groom on a field scale for the tubers. They provide staple carbohydrate food in the yam zone of West Africa, where daily consumption is 0.5, 1.0kg yam need a great deal of labour for their cultivation and to prepare them for food and they are usually expensive to buy for normal human consumption, the field or peel, sometimes after partial boiling in West Africa, they are usually eaten as pounded yam which is prepared by peeling cut-up yam and boil before pounding them in a wooden mortal to produce a glutinous dough (pounded yam).
The chemical composition of yam tuber is as follows:
 Water                70%
Starch                25%
Sugar                1%
Protein                1.2%
1.3    JUSTIFICATION OF PROJECT
The most important justification of this project are as follows:
•    The machine is being operated electrically
•    Safety of the user comes first when constructing the machine
•    The operation is hygienic and the machine can be cleaned with water after used
•    Lubrication of the adjacent moving part is made possible through a channel to reduce frictional resistance
•    The need to improve the country’s economy for if the machine is produced in large number they could be exported thereby improving our foreign trade and hence, earning of more foreign exchange.
1.4    AIMS AND OBJECTIVS
The aims and objective of the project were:
•    To design and develop a mechanical device which with rotary motion of the beaters perform the pounding operation which will be more efficient, less time consuming, with less human effort and of a greater hygienic processing.
•    To make the beaters detachable for easy maintenance