King of the midwing

Meeting the requirements

Cutting midwings used to be done manually, a very time-consuming job. In view of growing customer demand, the increasing scarcity of skilled staff and stricter food safety requirements, automation is the only option left for producing large quantities of these center wing pieces. However, the structure of the second joint is very complex and the bones are irregular in shape. Requirements can’t be met with just one straight cut. Automated cutting should involve a series of precise and consistent movements. Paul Arnts, Poultry Process Technologist for Marel, says, “Over the last few years, the requirements of the market have become even stricter. We have the answer: our WingMaster midwing processor for the ACM cut-up system."

‘Catching’ the bone joint

Each wing entering the module is ‘caught’ immediately by its own ‘active transporting unit’ that gradually positions the wing over the dedicated blade holder. In this way, the wing joint is pushed automatically into its optimal position. No cameras or other detection devices are needed, the machine just ‘senses’ automatically where the bone joint is located. The WingMaster module will easily handle variations in weight or shape. Whether large, small, thick or thin, the static knife can make a consistent anatomic cut, precisely at the right position of the joint. The product gradually moves forward over the long cutting blade until it is cut at precisely the optimal moment.

Superb presentation

“Major benefits of the WingMaster midwing processor include a static knife instead of a rotating blade together with the ability to position each wing individually. It will excel in any market due to its focus on precise, high-quality anatomic wing cuts and perfect skin coverage. Such a superb product presentation is something everybody wants. We dare to say that our WingMaster module really is ‘king of the midwing’. Attention is also paid to accurate cutting of the first wing segment (drumette) because both products need to maintain optimum value,” says Paul Arnts.

Ideal for Q-Wing

The WingMaster processor processes the left and right wings of one product completely independently. The module can handle wings with or without wing tips. It can also be bypassed without the need to turn shackles. Automatic cutting in the ACM line means no labor, while less labor is required for sorting and rework. This also makes the WingMaster ideal for inclusion in a Q-Wing set-up.

Simplifying Q-Wing

It is of the utmost importance to deliver only high-quality wing portions to demanding customers. There should be no downgrades in between. To ensure this, the Marel Q-Wing solution lends a helping hand. Q-Wing is an innovative configuration of the IRIS vision system, PDS software and ACM wing processing modules. Based on the quality data provided by the IRIS camera scans, Q-Wing automatically separates the product streams of A-grade and B-grade wing pieces.
The separated product streams provide a logistical advantage as both qualities are typically packed differently. Manual quality inspection also becomes unnecessary with Q-Wing. Only one operator is needed to do a final check. The system is capable of handling whole wings or midwings at capacities of up to 14,400 wings per hour [240 wpm]. It is consistent and, unlike human quality inspectors, doesn’t get tired or biased during the shift.

One WingMaster

Certain wing-cutting modules are duplicated in the Q-Wing configuration, allowing either whole wings or wing pieces identified as A-grade by IRIS to be processed separately from downgrades. For midwings, however, only a single WingMaster module will suffice, as it can handle left and right wings totally independently. This feature considerably simplifies the Q-Wing system in the midwing cutting area.