The main aim of the present study is to develop, to fabricate and
to evaluate a cutting machine for turnip fingers to be used in
small and medium production like stainless steel and mild steel
were used in fabrication. The machine productivity increased
with increased turnip size, slice thickness and cutting speed. The
uniformity index increases with increasing turnip size, slice
thickness and cutting speed. The cutting efficiency increased
from 95.361 to 96.674 and 95.130 to 96.864 % with increased
turnip size from small to large, slice thickness from 9 to 12 mm,
respectively, while it decreased from 97.524 to 94.716 % with
increased cutting speed from 250 to 550 rpm, respectively. The
specific energy consumption decreased with increased turnip
size, slice thickness and cutting speed. The total cost of slicing
machine decreased from 0.081 to 0.043, 0.074 to 0.049 and
0.073 to 0.048 LE kg-1 with increased turnip size from small to
large, slice thickness from 9 to 12 mm and cutting speed from
250 to 550 rpm, respectively.