Marel: How to maximize the value of the breast caps?
Adaptive filleting
Formerly, deboning breasts mechanically was fine, provided the mechanical system used was fed with uniform breast caps. If not, yield and product quality would suffer. Processors often avoided this problem by grading breast caps beforehand, a time-consuming exercise, which often caused production planners headaches.
With the introduction of its AMF-i modular breast cap filleting system, Marel has solved this issue. The solution is known as “adaptive filleting”. Immediately after breast caps have been loaded on their carriers, an intelligent measuring unit checks each one. The unit then signals all downstream modules to set themselves automatically to process the breast cap just measured. Irrespective what size a breast cap is, AMF-i will handle them all, even if a small breast cap is followed by large one, which is again followed by a small one. Yields will be optimum in every case. The production planner’s life will be a lot easier. He will have much more flexibility in meeting incoming customer orders.
Specialty chicken too
In many markets, consumers are becoming ever choosier when buying meat for their chicken meal. Apart from a standard broiler, they will be able to opt for an organic chicken, a concept chicken, a “label rouge” bird or some other local specialty. Some will have a different anatomy to a standard broiler. AMF-i will handle all types of bird regardless of breast shape or size. A program for each type of bird can be set into the system on commissioning. Alternatively, processors can do this for themselves. When the type changes, all the processor has to do is to enter the new type into the touchscreen mounted on the system itself.
As broilers are getting heavier all the time, processing methods must adapt to accommodate this change. This is particularly true of poultry powerhouses such as the USA and Brazil. With its AMF-i HD, Marel can handle heavier breast caps weighing up to 1250g.
Wide variety of fillet products
AMF-i allows processors to make a wide variety of skin-on or skinless breast fillet products from whole butterflies with tenders attached to half fillets with tenders harvested separately. The capacity of the system is up to 3600 breast caps per hour.
The only operations left to be done manually are meat harvesting and trimming. When it comes to loading, this is not a fully manual process. To make it easier, a loading module is used to place breast caps onto the carriers of the system. Thanks to this module, a single operator can manage the loading process even when the AMF-i is running at full capacity.
Modular design
Splitting the filleting process into individual steps, Marel has developed a module for each.
This approach has a number of advantages. Breast caps can be positioned ideally for the operation to be carried out and processors can check that each step has been done correctly. Even before adaptive filleting, the quality and yield possible with an AMF won the system many fans, evident from the hundreds of installations worldwide.
One of AMF-i’s advantages is that processors do not have to buy all modules at once. It could be that the type of product being produced does not need the module or that it is cost-effective to leave a given process manual, at least for the time being. Modules can always be added later.
Depending on the product being produced, modules can be quickly switched in and out of line at the touch of a lever.
Modules for virtually all operations
The system can comprise the following modules given in sequence order.
Loading module, breast blister remover, de-skinner removing all skin in a single undamaged piece, wishbone remover, halving module which can include an attachment for removing the narrow ribbon of meat on top of the keel-bone, fillet separation module cutting through all connections between fillet and breastbone allowing fillets to be removed easily by hand, tendon trimmer, tendon separation module allowing the easy manual removal of tenders.
For those processors with a market for keel-bone cartilage, a module can be fitted on the system’s underside, which harvests this potentially valuable component.
PLC controls
Sensors along the system determine when a given module starts cutting and how long the cut will be.
This all depends on the weight of the breast cap, allowing the system’s PLC controls to store different settings for different cap weights. Changing settings is both quick and easy. All that has to be done is type the new cap weight into the system’s touchscreen. All module settings are then changed automatically and processing can continue. The changeover takes seconds.
The touchscreen also provides full information on what has been produced and how the system has performed. AMF-i can be incorporated into a plant-wide Innova system, which allows management to improve overall performance and productivity.
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