Project Overview

Peanuts are an abundant crop in Mwape, Zambia. Every year villagers produce a large portion of peanuts that are then consumed in both domestic and foreign markets. As one can imagine, the shell that encompasses the peanut seed does not hold much use. Therefore, it would be significantly more profitable for villagers to remove the peanut seeds, leaving the shells behind, before packaging and shipping. Doing this increases the value of each product shipped and thus allows for higher profit per shipment. This is why peanut producers bring in additional villagers to help remove the shells from every peanut seed. Currently the villagers perform this task through a long and tedious process by hand. Thus, the means to do this is grossly inefficient and a new technology is needed to help decorticate these peanuts.

In short, there is a need to design a device that can decorticate peanuts efficiently at the village level. However, in designing such a device there are initial constraints that the team must abide by. The device must be human powered, as other sources of power cannot be guaranteed. Thus, it needs to be powered by that of an average Zambian villager. Also, the device should be constructed from materials found in these villages. This would also mean assembly procedures are available to Zambian villages. It must also completely separate the peanut seeds from the shells. The device itself needs to have a small learning curve so that the average villager can use it. Therefore, it needs to employ common operational procedures and, of course, be safe to operate.

The physical requirements of the design will be to have the maximum weight of no more than 100 pounds, be able to stand freely during all stages of use (operation, storage), be portable, and require either one or two people to move it. It should also not be too large, so that is easier to move and store. Thus, the maximum dimension of any one side should be 6 feet. It should also be simple to fabricate and assemble, such that two people should be able to make the device in two days.

From the intended market, a clean environment for operation will most likely not be available, so the device will need to be able to operate outside of any shelter. As such, the device shall be operational at reasonable temperatures and in most weather conditions. It should also be able to withstand large amounts of water, dust and wear. As for the overall life cycle requirements, it should be able to withstand daily use for 5 years. For maintenance, replacement parts should be easily fabricated and replaced, and lubrication should be applied only infrequently.

The cost of the device also needs to stay relatively low because the average Zambian GDP per capita is roughly $1000. Therefore, the cost of such a device shall not exceed $100. In addition, it should be operational 95% of the time, meaning that it should only jam or need maintenance 5% of the time, while allowing no more than 20% of peanuts unshelled, crushed, or unusable. As such, it should be simple to use, have a high reliability and low cost.