Olin College of Engineering joins Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) to conduct a training workshop on ADE Mini Cassava Grater and Spot Welding at the Suame Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU). The workshop witnessed sixteen participants. Among the participants were, Fabricators, Welders, Metal men and Artisans.
In his welcome address, Dr George Y Obeng stated that the training was a collaboration between TCC and ADE (Olin College) and it the first of its kind in 2014.Prof. Benjamin Linder, the Director of ADE, continued the by given the overall goal of the workshop. According to him, the overall objective of the workshop is to enhance the skills of the fabricators and welders. The programme was in two folds.
The new ADE mini grater designed was shown to all participants. Prof Ben said that the mini grater is a new design which has been introduced by ADE. He explained that the already existed graters are the handy graters used in our homes and the larger graters which are known as village graters. The purpose of the new mini grater is to serve as an intermediary between these two. Though the new machine is handy, its efficiency and effectiveness is worth noting. The nature of the machine is believed to attract a large market for producers. He further said that the grater is of much value as a consumer product than an Agricultural product. Pro continued that when the grater is standardized both individuals and hiring groups can acquire it. The major targeted consumers of the product were the gari producers and restaurant operators, as well as individual domestic homes. From a survey conducted, the team realized that many of their targets are eager for their own convenient graters and they anticipated the ability of the grater to speed up the processing of cassava for them.
With the introduction of the use of spot welding, Prof Ben Linder emphasized that it is an important technology in production. “There are over 10000 spot welds in the production of a single car but are mostly unnoticed. Though there are other methods of welding introduced in the country, there is a need for a refined technology to meet the consumer. The spot welding technique though available at Suame, is not common and the machines available are large. There is therefore the need for a handy machine to enhance technology” Pro Benjamin Linder said. A product demonstration of the machine was also undertaken. He explained the spot weld is not to replace the electric resistant arc welding but enhances it.
The participants were given the opportunity to produce five of the Mini Cassava Grater using an appropriate materials and Spot welding technology. The participants were very happy because they had gained a lot of techniques in their field.
At the end of the workshop, each participant received a certificate of Completion from TCC and ADE.
