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Bread Oven

[allowing rural communities to bake and market their own bread]

[Summary & Motivation] [Community] [Specifications] [Issues] [Contacts] [Diagrams / Pictures]

Summary & Motivation	Project Initiator: ATS with help from ProBEC Start Date: 2003 Projected Completion Date: Currently being manufactured Current Status: Production Many of the rural communities in Lesotho currently import bakery products, mainly bread, from the few large cities. The length of time it takes to transport the bread can lead to a spoiled product, so ATS is trying to bring the ovens to the rural communities. A local entrepreneur would buy an oven which can fit forty-eight loaves of bread, buy supplies from the community, bake bread, and then market it at a small profit to his or her community. The dough kneader would be an optional accessory to the bread oven. [top]
Community	There are several small communities in Lesotho which would benefit from the technology, especially in the northern and eastern rural regions. ATS is currently targeting midsize communities. [top]
Specifications	Must be movable by women rather than men. Must cook bread using minimal amount of wood (Currently less than three logs) Must evenly bake all loaves. Outside temperature must not rise enough to cause burns. Oven should be easy to clean and access. Oven should be durable (No repairs for at least one year). [top]
Issues	The oven's insulation material is currently composed of vermiculite mixed with heat-resistant concrete. The sides of the oven are made of two steel panels with a gap in between filled with concrete. The result is a very heavy oven, which requires four to six strong men to lift it into the back of a truck. The heavier weight increases the transportation cost of the oven, making it more expensive for the local communities. Help is needed in the following areas: Developing a lighter insulation material that can withstand the high temperatures of the oven, withstand vibrations present during transportation over rural roads, and maintain its insulating properties for the life of the oven. Replace cement/vermiculite mixture. Determining why oven currently does not function correctly if more than sixteen loaves are loaded, even though the design capacity is fourty-eight loaves. Determining way to keep loose vermiculite from compressing on sides. Analyzing hinges to increase life span (Currently, the oven door can only be opened about twenty to thirty times before the hinges fail). Preventing smoke from exiting the oven in places other than the chimney. Reducing weight of oven to avoid cultural problem of having it only movable by men. Standardizing production using jigs. [top]
Contacts	Project Leader: D.S. Phakisi MIT Contact: Amy Smith <bee17@MAC.com> ATS Contact: D.S. Phakisi <phakisids@ats.org.ls> Website (If applicable): N/A [top]
Diagrams / Pictures	DIAGRAMS Description (Name) [Date] Download ATS Drawings AutoCAD 2000 drawing of bread oven (ATS) [8.22.2005]. *.dwg (0.05 MB) Bread Oven Solidworks model of bread oven, containing all relevant dimensions as measured on actual bread oven in 2005. *NOTE: Stove pipe is NOT shown in drawings, but can be added in variable lengths* (M. Zedler) [8.31.2005]. *.zip (1.6 MB) PICTURES Description (Name) [Date] View Bread Oven Album Contains pictures with captions to describe evolution and current status of ATS bread oven (ATS / M. Zedler) [9.01.2005]. *.html (Link) Solidworks Model Pictorial rendering of Solidworks model available above. Isometric view. Click on thumbnail for bigger *.jpeg picture (M. Zedler) [9.01.2005]. Solidworks Model Exploded Pictorial rendering of Solidworks model available above. Isometric view with components exploded outwards. Click on thumbnail for bigger *.jpeg picture (M. Zedler) [9.01.2005]. [top]

*.pdf - Portable Document File / *.doc - Document (Microsoft Word) / *.jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group (Browser) / *.zip - WinZip Compressed File (WinZip)

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