30
MAY 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
Exact Portioning andSorting
An important driving force of innovation behind increasingly efficient
processing lines is the growing demand for portioned and fixed-weight
packaging, and convenience products. The fully automatic portioning
and insertion of filets, steaks, sausage slices and other meat products
in the packaging calls for high-tech solutions. Most systems consist of
laser and/or x-rayscanners,with integratedscales, feedingunits for the
slicer and the slicer itself installed at the top of the processing line, as
well as downstream conveyor belts, which take the cut products to
multitrack belt sorterswith sophisticated shuttle systems or sortingand
insertion robots that, forexample,place thepackages in thedownstream
tray sealer.
Robot-aidedAutomation asaValue-addedFactor
Conventional automation is often too complex, too expensive and, in
particular, insufficiently flexible. In most cases, converting machines
designed for specific tasks is impracticable or only possible with a big
input of materials, time andmoney. However, this is not the case with
industrial robots.Thanks to theirextraordinaryflexibility,speed,precision
and repeataccuracy, theyarekeyelements forgreaterefficiency,quality
andsustainabilitynomatterwhat the task,e.g.,producthandling,quality
control or sorting and packaging. But what characterizes a successful
robotapplication?Superficially,an industrial robotcanonlymoveafictive
tool-centre point quickly, precisely and with a high degree of repeat
accuracy within a defined working area. It is the grabber or tool, the
cameras and sensors, highly developed software, intelligent control
systemsand theprogramming /configurationbyqualifiedpersonnel that
make robotsuniversal helpers. Today, theyare tobe found inalmost all
parts of the meat processing chain – from slaughtering to packaging
meat and sausage portions. In fast pick&place operations, robots can
take all different kinds of meat and sausage products from conveyor
belts and place them in the correct trays, in some cases at the rate of
up to 240 cycles perminute.
Insmokehouses,manuallyhangingand transferring thesmokesticks
with stringsof sausages is frequentlyabottleneck.Moreover, it is time,
personnel and cost intensive. Robots can carry out this workmore
preciselyand faster. Inaddition topersonnel savings, theadvantages
include, above all, a significant increase in terms of hygiene thanks
to the abolition of manual operations and a reduction in wastage
because there isnodamage to thesausages, something that isoften
unavoidable inmanual operation.
Robot-aided automation in slaughtering and dismembering
facilities continues to be one of the biggest technical challenges. A
task that humanscanmaster thanks to their sensesandmanyyears
of experience isamajor problem for robots. Due todifferent ratesof
growth,animalsvarygreatly in termsofweight,sizeand theproportion
ofmeat to fat, aswell asbone sizeanddensity. Nevertheless, there
arealsosomeeconomicand, inparticular,high-performancesolutions
in thisfield.Thespectrumof applications includesgrasping front-leg
hoovesandnecks, removing the rectum,opening theabdominalwall,
separating thepelvic boneand sternum, aswell as splittingpigs, all
of which ismadepossiblebyadvanced3D scanners that determine
the topology of the animals after slaughtering. The information
obtained is analyzed by the control software, which then generates
the cutting paths to be used by the robot. In dismembering plants,
the robot blades are controlled via vision software.
X-rayTechnology for InlineFatAnalysis
The still widespread extraction of lipid using the Soxhlet process is
not only time and labour intensive but also, due to the sampling
procedure,notparticularlyaccurate.Today, technology isdeveloping
moreandmore in thedirectionofcontinuous inlinechecksandmodern
X-ray technology in accordance with the DEXA process. This is a
highly efficient method of lipid determination and suitable for raw,
naturalmeat products, including refrigeratedor frozenmeat, loseor
packed in boxes or cartons – as long as they are free of other
ingredients. Thus, X-ray technology offers users continuous,
100 percent product control including data documentation for
traceability.
TheLatestMeatProcessingTrends
Automation
greaterefficiencyandcosteffectiveness
for improvedproductquality
At present, the focus of the
meat processing industry is
increasingly on intelligent
linkage of the individual stages
and the increased useof
modern information and
control technology.
