Design & Development of an automatic Karanji-Dumpling making machine

A sweet or namkeen stuffed dumpling is very popular across India and even among other Asian countries, though a variety knows them of names across different regions. In this research, we are explicitly referring to a famous Indian dumpling snack known as a Karanji. It is an Indian-origin dumpling made with suji or maida containing either a sweet or namkeen stuffing. With the rise in population and fast-paced nature of daily life, demand for packaged foods such as Ready-to-cook (RTC) and Ready-to-eat (RTE) food is also growing faster; hence manual production of Karanjis can not cope as it can get cumbersome as in case of bulk production facilities such as small or medium scale food factories, central kitchens, and fast food centers. With the automatic Karanji-making machines available in the market, the process is quite efficient but not very economical for medium-or small-scale enterprises. Also, these operators may not be able to handle the high-end technology machines; hence the end quality may be compromised. In this research, we have developed a mechanical, semi-portable, efficient, simple, easy-to-operate, and most importantly, economical machine that tries to imitate the household karanji-making process with the help of a simple lever and cam-follower, a cutter rod, a stuffing dispenser, and mold frame with folding cum dispensing mechanism. The setup was analyzed analytically with input from significant experiments and was supported and validated numerically using FEA. As a result, there was no compromise in the quality of Karanji, but the process got economical.