Cutlet Forming Machine: Equipment for Semi-Finished Cutlet Production
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The AK2M-40 cutlet machine is the key piece of equipment used to portion and form cutlets from ready-made minced meat. It is a continuously operating machine that doses the product by volume, making it a practical example of equipment for producing cutlet semi-finished products.
The AK2M-40 cutlet machine is simple in design and easy to operate. Because dosing is performed by volume rather than weight, the machine can run continuously while maintaining consistent portions.
What are the main components of the AK2M-40 cutlet machine?
The AK2M-40 cutlet machine is built around a cast-iron body and a set of forming and conveying parts that move the minced meat from the loading cylinder to the finished cutlet. 
- a cast iron body (2);
- a loading cylinder (35) made of stainless sheet steel with fixed blades (33);
- a six-blade silumin screw (34);
- a cast-iron table (29) with five round forming openings;
- cast-iron pistons (31);
- a regulator (7) with an indicator disc (16);
- a conveyor disc (28) with a scraper (27);
- a transfer-gear mechanism.
How is the drive of the cutlet machine arranged?
The AK2M-40 cutlet machine is driven by an asynchronous motor (1), whose motion is transferred to a worm pair (3) and then, through cylindrical gears (14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 25), to three vertical shafts. The first shaft drives the six-blade screw (34), which mixes the minced meat inside the loading cylinder (35) and forces it through the window (32). 
How does the machine form a cutlet?
The second shaft drives the table (29) of the AK2M-40, which carries five openings for the pistons (31). When a given table opening reaches the position beneath the cylinder bottom, its piston (31) drops to the lowest position, and through the window the minced meat — driven by the blade screw (34) — fills the cell formed in the table. As the table continues to rotate, the ball (30) runs onto the lifting cam (11) and raises the pistons together with the formed cutlet up to the level of the table's upper surface.
On the third vertical shaft, the conveyor disc (28) is mounted to discharge the finished cutlet. By the time the cutlet reaches the disc (28), its underside is level with the surface of the table (29); as the table rotates further, the cutlet passes onto the disc — the clearance between the lower surface of the disc and the upper surface of the table is 0.2 mm — and centrifugal force then throws it off onto a placed sheet of paper.
To keep the conveyor disc clean of meat particles, a special scraper (27) is fitted on the cover (36) of the machine body. The scraper is held firmly against the conveyor disc by a spring (26), ensuring a tight contact that removes residual minced meat.
How is the cutlet weight set and adjusted?
The AK2M-40 can form cutlets of up to 100 g, with the actual weight depending on the cutlet's size and the grade of the minced meat. The height of the cutlets formed on the machine depends on the set stroke length of the pistons, and this stroke is established by a special regulator fitted with a graduated scale.
A correctly adjusted machine produces cutlets of constant mass, with a weight error not exceeding 5%. To change the cutlet weight, turn the regulator disc (16) by the handle (17). As the regulator disc rotates, the screw (8) moves the stem (6), pressing on the lever (5). The lever raises the rod (4), which in turn lifts the washer (13) attached to it — the surface on which the pistons (31) rest in their lowest position.
Turning the regulator by one division changes the dose (the cutlet mass) by 10 g, and by half a division by 5 g. The machine's output is 4000 cutlets per hour. The principal scheme of the cutting mechanism on machines of this type is analogous to that of bacon slicers and includes knife frames and a sickle-shaped or disc cutting knife.
