Meat Cutting Machines and Equipment for Processing Meat Raw Materials

Meat-processing technological equipment falls into two main groups: machines for grinding hard raw materials and machines for grinding soft raw materials. Each group breaks down further by the fineness of the cut — coarse, medium, fine, and ultra-fine reduction — and the machines may operate either in batches or continuously, at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum.

• Equipment for grinding hard raw materials (meat-and-bone, bone, frozen block meat, spices) — power grinders, crushers, grinder-crushers, units and reducers for processing frozen block meat, and bone and spice grinders.
• Equipment for grinding soft raw materials (muscle, fat, and connective tissue) — grinders (meat mincers), fat-slicing machines, cutters, colloid mills, and meat reducers.

Meat is processed using this technological equipment for grinding meat raw material, with the specific machine chosen according to whether the tissue is hard or soft and how fine the final cut must be.

What is the V2-FRP band saw used for?

The V2-FRP band saw (Fig. 1) is designed to cut meat cuts into portions. It can be used on its own or built into lines for portioning and packaging meat and stewing cuts. The saw is a versatile tool for dividing carcass sections cleanly and consistently.

The V2-FRP band saw consists of a frame, a steel housing with a cover, three pulleys, the saw blade, a tensioning device, two carriages with their guides, and a special device that supports and guides the movement of the working section of the blade.

An electric motor with a driving pulley is mounted in the lower part of the frame, driven directly by the motor, while the driven pulley and the tensioning pulley sit in the upper part. The driven pulley shares a vertical axis with the driving pulley, and the tensioning pulley is set at a 45° angle relative to the driven and driving pulleys.

The ends of the toothed steel band are soldered together, and the endless blade is fitted over the three pulleys. During operation the blade travels from top to bottom. The motor, the pulleys, and the saw blade are enclosed in a metal housing fitted with a hinged cover, which gives quick, convenient access to the pulleys and blade for cleaning and routine use.

To hold the working section of the blade steady, a special device is mounted in the upper part of the frame near the driven pulley. This device absorbs the longitudinal and transverse loads generated while sawing meat cuts. Depending on the size of the cut, the device is positioned and fixed at the required distance from the carriage. Figure 1 — V2-FRP band saw: 1 – adjusting support; 2 – frame; 3 – saw blade support; 4 – locking screw; 5 – left carriage; 6 – right carriage; 7 – housing; 8 – upper pulley; 9 – saw guard; 10 – clamping nut; 11 – bushing; 12 – tensioning device; 13 – vertical bar; 14 – horizontal bar; 15 – electrical cabinet; 16 – chute; 17 – motor housing; 18 – electric motor; 19 – tray; 20 – control post; 21 – saw blade.

Two movable carriages feed the product onto the blade, each resting on and sliding along two guides by means of four rollers. The carriages can move along the guides together, when rigidly joined by a hinged plate, or independently — one moving forward or backward while the other is locked on its guide with a special screw.

The particles produced while sawing meat fall between the carriages into a drip pan. Specially fitted scrapers clean the working section of the blade and the pulleys of meat particles and fragments.

What types of knives do meat boners use?

Figure 2 — Hand knives: a – for evisceration and pluck removal Ya2-FIN-6; b – for veterinary work Ya2-FIN-7; c – for separating intestines from the mesentery Ya2-FIN-8; d – cleaver for cutting cattle carcasses Ya2-FIN-9; e – cleaver for cutting pork carcasses Ya2-FIN-10; f – for boning the dorsal-rib part Ya2-FIN-11; g – for boning the hind and shoulder-blade parts Ya2-FIN-12; h – for boning the breast and tail parts Ya2-FIN-13; i – universal boning knife Ya2-FIN-14; j – trimming knife Ya2-FIN-15; k – trimming knife Ya2-FIN-16; l – fat-slicing knife Ya2-FIN-17; m, n – for intestines Ya2-FIN-19.

Meat boners use several types of knives (Fig. 2) in their work, and every one of them must be kept well sharpened. On a coarse-grit grindstone or whetstone thoroughly wetted with water, the bevels of the edge are ground first on one side and then on the other, working both sides to equal dimensions.

When sharpening, the width of the bevel should be 4–8 mm for large knives, 3–5 mm for medium knives, and 2–3 mm for small knives. After this, the knife is honed (again along the bevel) on a fine-grit stone wetted with water. Each side of the edge is ground until a visible thread of metal (a burr) appears along the whole length of one side and the blade has completely lost its shine over its full length.

Honing on the fine-grit stone is done once or twice per shift. The knife is then finished on a graphite block wetted with water, held in the same way as on the fine-grit stone. The edge must never be allowed to bite into the surface of the graphite block. Final dressing of the knife is carried out on a steel (musat), which may have either a smooth surface or a fine grooved finish.

Powered mechanical knives are also used for the final boning (clean-up) of meat. These mechanized tools differ mainly in the design of their cutting elements, which may take the form of a U-shaped plate knife, an arc-shaped bent steel strip, a bell shape with a round cutting part, or a flat shape with a perforated cutting edge. Figure 3 — Powered knives for final meat boning: a – combined; b – arc-shaped strip; c – bell-shaped; d – with a perforated cutting part; e – plate type; f – disc, cup-shaped; g – ring type.