Those processors wishing to get the most out of their breast fillet operation are looking for better positioning of fillets on the belt, as their precise singulation could bring a number of benefits to the process. “That is why we have developed Infeed Monitoring, a new SensorX accessory designed to ensure a singulated stream of products through the system,” says Brynjólfur Þórsson, Marel Global Product Manager Inspection.

Infeed Monitoring has five detection parameters, which are fully adjustable and displayed on the system’s screen. These are product orientation, the presence of product within the scanning area, product alignment in the middle of the belt, product spacing, and product thickness (to detect overlapping or folded products). Infeed Monitoring over time helps line operators improve how they position fillets.

The challenge
Poorly positioned fillets, which could have bone in them, might slip through the system undetected, necessitating more rework. “Products that lie randomly on the belt can affect the performance of various machines in the line and will impact value. Singulating the product stream at an early stage stops such issues from happening. An operator between SensorX and the portion cutter will no longer be needed to position products.”

Line operators find it challenging to judge correct infeed in real-time, as products pass by very quickly. Until now, computer dashboards have not provided any feedback on how to correct manual infeed. By scanning and evaluating the incoming product flow in real-time, SensorX Infeed Monitoring solves this issue and guarantees food safety.

How to monitor?
One ‘traffic light’ post per lane with red, yellow and green lights gives a clear real-time picture of how wellsingulated the infeed is. Only if all five parameters are met, will the light turn green. Infeed Monitoring does not correct potential issues itself. The aim is to alert the line manager to take remedial action, who will then give additional instructions to the positioning operators.




Save rework and money
Brynjólfur Þórsson concludes, “The equipment will not be blocked by unsingulated or badly positioned products that cannot be processed. For SensorX, this means hitting the highest possible level of food safety with virtually no products slipping through the inspection process unnoticed. For downstream processes, this improvement not only reduces rework but also potentially saves thousands of euros per day due to increased yield in the portioning area. Infeed Monitoring is a modest addition but adds maximum value to a filleting operation.”

www.marel.com