VC-i - The world's first intelligent vent cutter

The vent cutter’s job is to drill out the cloaca in the most accurate and hygienic way without damaging the intestines and hang it consistently over the back of the carcass.

Cloaca on the back

The vent cutter is the very first step in the evisceration process, making its performance crucial for the entire line. If this first step isn’t done properly, the remaining operations in the line will not be able to correct it. Incorrect drilling by the VC can prevent the VO opening machine from making the necessary incision. This results in further issues such as the cloaca being pushed inward or torn and rendering the product unusable. Simply put: if the first step is not perfect, the next steps (VO and Nuova) are likely to fail as well. That is why it is so important to have a VC-i in your line: it drills and positions all vents nearly to perfection with virtually no internal damage.

Artificial intelligence

Thanks to the HMI touchscreen, user-friendliness of the VC-i is unprecedented. The digitally controlled system, backed by SmartBase software, is easy to set up. You simply choose ‘recipes’. There are no longer any manual settings, making the process totally independent of operator judgments. SmartBase software and HMI touchscreen control bring a significant level of intelligence to the VC-i, but it’s the PUPIL vision technology—far more advanced than a standard camera—that truly adds artificial intelligence.

PUPIL’s deep-learning AI technology 

PUPIL (Precision Unified Processing with Intelligent Learning) uses artificial intelligence to measure the VC-i’s performance. It consists of an optical sensor and its computer in a small enclosure behind the VC-i in the overhead conveyor line. It’s not as simple as it may seem to register 99.9% of correctly positioned cloacas using vision technology. This is why PUPIL uses state-of-the-art deep-learning AI technology to pick up incorrectly cut and hung cloacas as well as one-leggers. Now, the VC-i no longer requires a highly skilled operator to recognize and count the number of correctly positioned cloacas, which pass by incredibly fast. Instead, PUPIL AI-based vision technology gives real-time insight into the machine’s performance and settings. PUPIL is completely objective, unbiased and does not make mistakes when counting.

Automated settings 

The digital recipes, which take account of the anatomy of a given flock, are responsible for setting the machine. This does away with the need for manual adjustments based on guesswork and reduces the risk of human error when setting the machine. When entering a recipe via the HMI touchscreen, there are four automatic settings. These are: 
1. Electric height adjustment of the VC-i is set via the HMI screen. The VC-i will adjust its height automatically according to the recipe entered. 
2. Drilling depth into the carcass can be set by the millimeter, allowing the drill to go precisely as deep as needed without touching the intestines. 
3. The backplate ensures step-less adjustment of the product relative to the drill. This will depend on the product’s size, type and anatomy. Accuracy of the positioning of the backplate gives much more flexibility than a simple button for small, medium or large flocks. 
4. When entering the VC-i, an infeed guide directs product into the machine’s units. This requires no more manual settings based on gut feeling.

Early performance warning 

PUPIL monitors the line and generates real-time and historical performance reports. They will show information such as the percentage of correctly positioned cloacas and performance per unit. If performance falls below a certain threshold, an alert prompts immediate remedial action. This ‘early warning’ tells you, for instance, that performance has dropped below 96%. This will affect the overall performance of the evisceration line. Now you need to investigate why this has happened. Are the recipe settings correct? Is a drill clogged? Is there a piece of meat stuck somewhere? You can remotely check the individual performance of each of the machine’s 20 units, bringing the process closer to a ‘lights-out’ evisceration department. The idea behind PUPIL performance monitoring is that better insights lead to better vent cutting performance across both flocks and shifts.

Hygiene - highest priority 

Processors emphasize that in vent cutting, hygiene is a top priority. Since it is the first operation actually inside the carcass, maintaining the highest standards of hygiene and care at this stage is crucial. Drilling deep enough will always release the cloaca; that is not the challenge. Beneath the vent, however, is the intestinal package, which under no circumstances should be drilled into. VC-i’s digital machine settings ensure this with minimal intestinal contamination. The VC-i follows a no-touch hygienic concept with no manual intervention needed. Top-class drilling performance contributes substantially to overall product quality. Other hygienic measures are the vacuum cleaning system, which prevents contamination with excrement, and the automatic cleaning of drills after each operation.

Improved unit design

Instead of maintenance-intensive drill units, VC-i features improved drills and new units. Each of the 20 units features a sliding rod with a very open design offering superior cleanability and performance. There is also less chance of contamination of the unit by residues. As the adjustment and replacement of units have become easier, maintenance convenience, userfriendliness and hygiene all benefit. 

Water savings

At the infeed, a product detector identifies empty shackles and one-leggers, indicated by an on/off light. These shackles are then excluded from VC-i’s performance measurements. If there’s a longer sequence of empty shackles due to a production pause, the spray-cleaning of the drill units automatically stops, significantly saving water.

StepClean

When cleaning the VC-i on a static line, pushing the unique ‘StepClean’ button rotates the machine by two units. This does away with the need for manual turning, benefiting both ease of cleaning and operational safety.

i-Frame

The VC-i vent cutter features Marel’s new i-frame, distinguished by its unique ‘angled’ doors, a design also seen on the Nuova-i.