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Streamlining a meat processing line

20 August 2023

A move from mechanical overhead processing lines to an electrically driven solution has streamlined the meat production process for Pickstock Foods.

Pickstock Foods wanted to venture away from its traditional mechanically run overhead production line, to create a more efficient electrical setup.

The company had relied on a mechanical production process that saw gears run out to a shaft and create a mechanical link up, with everything connected to a single drive system. The facility had multiple lines, a long distance from each other which made mechanical synchronisation an awkward process. The design was also prone to breakdowns. 

Pickstock Foods tasked its engineering supplier, Technidrive, to develop an automated solution. 

For this project, Technidrive chose several WEG motors and variable speed drives (VSDs), with built in programmable logic controllers (PLCs). 

Running in sync  
Compared to more traditional setups, the new electrical system has three independent drive systems, mounted hundreds of yards apart. Replacing the cumbersome shafts, these lines are controlled independently, providing the ability for them to move in sync. 

This process consists of a master line and two slave lines, all with hooks that carry the product around the system. Technidrive’s task was to ensure that the master line is in sync with the two parallel slave lines. 

Unlike previous variations, this process is managed electronically, without any mechanical connections. To achieve this, Technidrive ensured the conveyor calculations were designed with the required torque, which drives the chain to carry the weight of the product hanging from the hooks. 

Technidrive integrated an encoder into the motors that gives out pulses to determine the position of the motors and shafts. An encoder is designed into all three of the motors, accompanied by VSDs for optimal energy efficiency. 

Simplicity for reliability 
To ensure reliability, fault codes were designed into the system. Now, if the lines go out of sync the operator is alerted via a trip, an alarm, or an error code. 

Product damage is commonplace in this industry mostly as a result of the line moving to quickly. To ensure this doesn’t happen the system provides operators with a potentiometer, a manually adjustable variable resistor to control the speed of the product coming onto the lines.  

Technidrive also provided the necessary equipment and flexibility to create an automatic startup sequence, without the need for external controllers. Along with proximity sensors that monitor the hooks going past the lines, an incremental encoder creates an automatic startup sequence and homing sequence, which aligns the hooks with the three lines. 

On startup, the system runs through a sequence where it moves each chain forward until the hooks are all lined up. Once aligned, the lines are at standstill before the system starts in auto mode. An operator simply switches the system on and the lines carry out the auto correct sequence. 

Reflecting on the originality of this project, Ash Khan, electrician at Pickstock Foods explained, “I’ve seen other production lines, but this one has the benefit of synchronisation and the ability to log onto the system at any time. Since the start of the project, we’ve had no problems with the equipment’s operation, but it is reassuring to know this would be logged electronically for fast and effective fault finding.” 


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