Managers are always on the lookout for machinery that lasts longer, performs better, and produces higher overall yield. If you want to maintain a high yield at your plant, you have to understand where your poultry rollers fit into the overall equation. Worn, low-quality poultry rollers lead to wasted raw materials and lost profits, so knowing when and why to repair, refurbish, or replace a roller is essential. Leaving a roller in rotation too long can lead to damage and lower yield through over-processing; on the other hand, cleaning, maintaining, and specializing your plant’s rollers can cause yields to increase dramatically. In this informative guide, we’ll take a deep look at how rollers play into a poultry production plant’s overall process, the different types of rollers in play, and what factors affect them. Finally, we’ll discuss how and why to keep rollers cleaned and maintained, when it’s appropriate to refurbish a roller, and when it’s time to start looking for a replacement.

ROLLER TYPES

In the past, the part removal and evisceration process was 100% manual. In modern plants, the process can be semi- or fully automated, but the need for effective rollers remains. Modern rollers typically come in one of four categories: gizzard peeling, gizzard harvesting, breast cleaning, and neck & thigh skinning. While all the rollers in a given category will perform the same basic function, rollers will vary in size based on four dimensions:

PEEL LENGTH

Length of the peel, the part that performs the roller’s key function of removing skin, membranes, fat, etc.

PEEL DIAMETER

Diameter of the peel, necessary to find accurate end blocks.

SHAFT LENGTH

Length of the shaft, the rod protruding off of the peel used to drive it.

SHAFT DIAMETER

Diameter of the shaft, necessary to find accurate shaft bushings.

Rollers can vary wildly in size based on the machine they are used in. Below is a chart depicting each type of roller, its specific function, and the range of sizes for the roller.

A. Manual Gizzard Peeling Rollers

Used for removing membranes and fat from poultry gizzards. Dimensions will vary.

B. Breast Cleaning Rollers

Used for removing membranes and skin from poultry breasts. Dimensions will vary.

C. Automatic Gizzard Peeling Rollers

Used for removing any membranes or skins present. These rollers are designed that the operator will never touch the rollers. Dimensions will vary.

D. Neck & Thigh Skinning Rollers

Used to safely and effectively skin poultry necks and thighs. Dimensions will vary.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT PERFORMANCE

AGE

The ultimate deciding factor affecting a roller’s performance is its age. No matter how well-maintained, every piece of equipment at a poultry plant will eventually break down once enough time has passed, and rollers are no different. The industry standard lifespan for rollers is 6-8 weeks, with overall yield dropping by as much as 10% every week the roller is kept in use past this period. While proper cleaning and maintenance procedures can extend a roller’s life considerably, no roller lasts forever. To keep yields high, you’ll have to change your plant’s rollers on a regular basis.

SHAFT CONDITION

The shaft on the roller should also be taken into account. Like the teeth, the shaft itself will become worn down over time which will have a detrimental effect on the roller’s ability to spin effectively. This will cause possible yield loss as the rollers hit each other due to the extra room they will pinch and bit the product.

TEETH SHARPNESS

A more-specific example of how the age of a roller affects its productivity comes from the sharpness of its teeth. Over time, a roller’s teeth will get worn down and dull, drastically degrading its ability to remove a bird’s skin and membranes effectively.

MATERIAL

Poultry rollers generally come in one of two material compositions: tool steel or stainless steel. While there isn’t a discernable difference in lifespan between the two types, tool steel rollers are cheaper but susceptible to rust, while stainless steel rollers are rust-proof but on average $38 more expensive per pair.

While stainless steel rollers are more prevalent in plants in the United States, the USDA has the final word about which materials can be used in which plants.

AUTOMATIC VS MANUAL

Whether your plant operates using manual or automatic rollers will also have an impact on its overall productivity. Like most industries, poultry production becomes more and more automated as technology improves; however, automatic rollers have yet to fully replace their manual counterparts, and there are pros and cons associated with each.

Because they work at a steady pace without fluctuations, automatic rollers produce a more predictable yield at an increased processing speed over manual rollers. And because automatic rollers don’t come into contact with human hands, they present a lower chance of contamination, worker injury, and other safety hazards.

On the other hand, while automatic rollers can process products faster, manual rollers allow peeled gizzards to be reworked without further damage, resulting in a higher-quality final product. Manual rollers aren’t as prone to over-processing of products, and are also generally easier for employees to reach than automatics, consequently making them easier to clean and maintain.

TIGHTNESS

The bolts in a roller block assembly may come loose over time, resulting in reduced efficiency. This can generally be fixed by tightening the two bolts at end of peeler head and pushing the blocks together against the rollers.  

BLOCKS AND BUSHINGS

To spin effectively, rollers need end blocks to hold them in place and brass bushings that act as lubricating sleeves to keep them from vibrating or coming loose. The state of the blocks and bushings have a big impact on the overall effectiveness of the roller itself: even a roller in excellent condition will not perform properly and even be damaged if it is attached to old and worn-down blocks or bushings.

Bushings should be replaced every two weeks, while blocks should be replaced every four months. In addition, you should also replace your bushings every time you replace your rollers. Changing your bushings will lengthen the life of your rollers as they protect from premature wear on the shafts and give lubrication for even performance.

OTHER MACHINERY

The other machinery in your plant can also affect your rollers. For example, in the gizzard area, gizzards will move through the harvester and defatter before peeling; if either machine is damaging the product, the gizzard could come out already in pieces or improperly cut. Peeling gizzard with these sorts of defects can damage them further, and as a result your plant will suffer a lower yield.

In addition to the direct effects of a defective machine, rollers can also be indirectly affected by the location of other machines in the floor layout. The smaller the floorspace that the maintenance team has to work with and the more hard-to-reach areas present, the harder it will be to clean the rollers effectively, meaning that they’ll be worn down much more quickly.

SAFETY

As always, safety should be priority number one at any food production plant. While there is a misconception that rollers are dangerous, the truth is that they’re perfectly safe so long as guidelines are in place and employees have had proper training. However, having these safety protocols in place will also lead to larger product yields and bigger profits.

Before you peel a gizzard, be sure to inspect it thoroughly first for any damage or faults. Before peeling, split the gizzard with a knife or with pneumatic scissors, which you might consider permanently mounting horizontally, with the blade facing upward. This may not be necessary if you have a gizzard harvesting machine.

Never wear gloves while operating a roller, as the material can get pulled into the peelers, potentially causing injury. Likewise, avoid long sleeves, loose shirts, or smocks, and keep those fingernails trimmed and short. Apply pressure to the gizzard with the horizontal flat part of your palm and the bottom of your fingers only. Take care not to press the tips of your fingers inwards or towards the rollers.

Don’t create a roller cleaning plan without taking the overall plant layout into account. Keeping certain pieces of equipment too close together can create areas that are hard to see or out of reach, making them harder to clean effectively. Inspect each machine carefully for these types of areas and instruct all employees on how to properly get to them.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

Like every piece of equipment, the rollers that produce the best yields & highest returns are the ones that are conserved through cleaning & maintenance.

THE BENEFITS OF CLEAN, MAINTAINED ROLLERS

Rollers, like any machine, last longer the better they are maintained, and the importance of keeping rollers clean cannot be overstated.

Unclean rollers that are left to sit out will gradually collect rust, dirt, and animal fragments. If these contaminants are left to build up for too long, eventually a breakdown is inevitable. By adhering to a strict cleaning and maintenance schedule, small problems won’t have a chance to snowball into big ones, and you’ll be able to give your rollers a much longer operational lifespan.

In addition to working longer, cleaned and maintained rollers will also work better. The same contaminants and buildup that can gradually kill a roller can also cause it to dull and perform poorly. The result is that clean and well-maintained rollers can not only cost you less in terms of repair, but can make your plant more money both in product quality and in overall product yield.

KEEPING ROLLERS CLEAN

Rollers should be cleaned every night during the sanitation shift. This is accomplished by thoroughly spraying each set of rollers with highlypressurized water. Having each set of rollers running while being sprayed down ensures that nothing is missed and that every part of the roller gets an even treatment.

Always keep an eye out on the water supply used for cleaning and lubrication. Under each machine, there is a 3/8” water supply feeding a water bar that provides a steady water supply to each set of rollers.

This ensures that water sprays on the bottom side of the rollers, keeping gizzards from floating on the water on top of rollers. If this bar is broken or missing, it will need to be replaced as soon as possible.

ROLLER MAINTENANCE

In addition to keeping rollers clean, it’s also vital to keep them well maintained and working properly. Have your maintenance team thoroughly trained on all of the ins and outs of each roller set in your plant, paying particular attention to probable situations that can arise and how they can be fixed.

As time passes, consumer demand continues to rise, making machine breakdowns and the associated opportunity costs that much more painful. This has led many plants to start organizing plant processes with predictive maintenance in mind.

Predictive maintenance hinges on keeping downtime and maintenance costs as low as possible by identifying and eliminating any potential problems as early as possible, before they can fester and cause long-term damage. Consider looking into vibration analysis and thermal imaging software, which can interpret problem signs invisible to the naked eye, giving managers more time to develop an effective solution.

One crucial but often overlooked factor in effectively maintaining a roller is the quality of bushings and blocks being used. Check out the section “Roller Replacement” for more information.

REFURBISHING YOUR ROLLERS

While only certain types of rollers (neck skinning) can be restored instead of outright replaced, refurbishing your plant’s rollers remains a viable option to getting the longest possible effective lifespan out of them.

The Benefits of Refurbishing Rollers

As with proper cleaning and maintenance, the core concept behind refurbishing your plant’s neck skinning rollers is to keep them working better for longer. Namely, the benefits of refurbishing rollers include, but are not limited to:

• Longer lifespan

• Greater product yield

• Reduced chance of breakage and downtime

• Reduced chance of machinery cross-contamination

• Reduced cost compared to replacement

Factors to Consider When Refurbishing

If you’re thinking about refurbishing your plant’s rollers instead of replacing them outright, here are some factors to take into account before making a decision:

TYPE OF ROLLER

Because of the way they are designed, as a general rule, only Neck Skinning Rollers can be refurbished. 

TIME FRAME

Normal wear time for a roller is 6-8 weeks. Refurbishing a pristine roller before any wear and tear has occurred is a waste of money; on the other hand, wait too long and you might as well replace it altogether.

TEETH CONDITION

The general rule for refurbishing a roller instead of replacing pertains to the condition of its teeth. If the teeth are still sharp and effective but the shaft is worn down, refurbishing is in order. If the teeth are dull or broken, it’s time to replace.

CURRENT ROLLER EFFECTIVENESS

Ultimately, the debate over whether to refurbish or replace is decided by the needs of the plant. Not all rollers are created equal; if you’re already using the best rollers available, by all means refurbish them and get your money’s worth. However, if higher quality or more cost-effective rollers become available, consider trading up.

ROLLER REPLACEMENT

Even the best roller breaks down eventually. By knowing the proper timeframe to expect a breakdown and taking the correct precautionary steps, you’ll be able to get the most out of today’s rollers before you have to change them.

WHEN TO REPLACE

The typical lifespan for a given roller is 6-8 weeks. Any roller that can’t be refurbished should be replaced somewhere in this time, and no roller should stay on the line longer than two months.

Teeth are the key factor in replacement. Regardless of how long it’s been in use, any roller that has teeth with more pits than can be repaired should be replaced immediately. If the pits are more than one-fourth inch of the teeth depth and more than one-fourth of the roller’s overall teeth surface, its entire effectiveness has been compromised, and it’s time to buy a new set.

Don’t forget that, in addition to the rollers themselves, the blocks and bushings that rollers need to operate effectively will also need to be changed out regularly. In addition to adhering to a strict cleaning and maintenance schedule, the best poultry production plants have systems in place to ensure bushings are replaced every two weeks and blocks every four months.

SIGNS IT’S TIME TO REPLACE

While 6-8 weeks is the general rule for replacing a current roller with a new one, there are a few other factors that can send a roller to an early grave. On your next maintenance check, be on the lookout for:

BROKEN OR DEPLETED FUNCTIONALITY

Like any other piece of machinery, a roller can be subject to vibration, shock, and high temperature during day-to-day operations of the plant. Sometimes, these factors can age rollers prematurely and eventually cause them to lose functionality, at which point it’s time to replace.

SKIN AND FAT BUILDUPS

Buildups of skin and fat are another classic warning sign of a faulty piece of machinery. During scheduled maintenance checks, if you or an employee finds areas with excessive buildups, it’s usually a sign that significant wear-down has occurred, and that it’s time to replace.

WORN TEETH

Dull teeth are the biggest killer of poultry rollers in the industry. No matter how well maintained, if the roller can’t peel and skin poultry effectively, it has no place in your plant.

With over 40 years of experience in the industry, DeLong’s is one of the leading authorities on poultry processing rollers in the United States. Our rollers are some of the best in the industry, providing you with safer processes, higher yield, and a better bottom line. No matter how well-maintained, rollers at your plant have to be replaced after about eight weeks. DeLong’s is always on call to help, and we offer on-site consultation and training to make sure your rollers and poultry processing procedures are as efficient and productive as possible. Are you looking for ways to increase yield at your plant? Schedule a Consultation with a Delong’s expert today.

SOURCES

• Poultry Processing Industry eTool
• Poultry Products Processing: An Industry Guide
• Scalding and Plucking for Optimum Carcass Quality and Yield
• Responsible Disposal of Hatchery Waste
• Poultry Processing: Questions & Answers
• How to Find Efficient Poultry Processing Equipment
• How to Know When to Replace your Poultry Processing Parts
• DeLong’s Products

The post The Lifecycle of a Poultry Peeling Roller appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

On the other hand, two key components are often overlooked: the end blocks and the bushings.

Blocks and bushings are separate from the roller itself, and consequently don’t always get the same attention as the centerpiece. Nevertheless, these elements play a huge role in overall roller effectiveness: even a brand-new high-quality roller won’t be able to perform very well if it’s hampered down by poor blocks or mismatched bushings.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at your rollers’ blocks and bushings, the crucial role they play, and how you can make the most out of the blocks and bushings at your poultry plant.

Roller End Blocks

As the name suggests, the end blocks are solid blocks that each end of the roller shaft is fitted into. At their most basic, blocks hold the rollers in place and allow them to spin effectively, but their overall impact is more nuanced.

Most rollers work in pairs, so most blocks are fitted with two holes each (though four-hole variants are not unheard of). Proper hole fitment on end blocks is a careful balancing act: put too much space between the two holes and the rollers will grab too much meat, ruining it for production; place the holes too close together and the subsequent friction will quickly wear down your rollers, aging them prematurely.

That said, while ineffective blocks can waste time and product yield, end blocks that are in good shape, bolted down squarely and level, can give your existing rollers a longer lifespan and increase overall peeling productivity simultaneously.

Roller Bushings

Brass bushings are fitted onto each shaft of the roller when it is put into end blocks. As such, the bushing is the contact point for the poultry peeling roller and the peeling machine itself. Bushings also provide extra lubrication so that rollers can spin more freely and preventing miscuts from snagging or friction.

However, like any other piece of equipment, roller bushings don’t last forever, and high workloads can quickly wear them down. Once bushings start to wear, their reduced effectiveness can start opening up space between rollers, leading to miscuts and all sorts of other potential problems.

Well-fitted, tight bushings will help both your rollers and end blocks last longer and reach higher yields. Just remember that, like blocks, failure to inspect and maintain existing bushings can lead to big problems in the long-term.

Why It Pays To Invest In Great Blocks And Bushings

For many poultry plant managers, keeping up-to-date on blocks and bushings is the single most cost-effective way to get a longer effective lifespan out of their existing rollers. This is caused by multiple factors, but the biggest is upfront costs for blocks and bushings when compared to replacing the rollers themselves, or even the entire peeling machine.

For a cost comparison, while a new set of rollers can cost over a hundred dollars depending on the manufacturer, bushings can be replaced for about two dollars a piece. With the efficiency and yield gains that new bushings can provide, their low price point means that savvy plant managers can keep the same roller set on the line for days longer without having to shut down.

Block and bushing upkeep is also a huge consideration for plants running older machines that are difficult or impossible to find replacement rollers for. While managers will still eventually have to upgrade their machines or find a custom roller manufacturer, simply switching out blocks and bushings can be a great way to push machines that much further when deadlines are looming.

The takeaway: if you’re looking to keep your poultry peeling machines lasting at maximum capacity for as long as possible, don’t forget about the blocks and bushings!

For more information about poultry peeling rollers, how they work, and how you can get the most out of the rollers in your poultry plant, download our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Peeling Roller, and start making gains at your plant today!

The post How Blocks and Bushings Affect Overall Poultry Roller Effectiveness appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

In this blog, we’ll explain why sharp teeth are so important, what they’re up against, and what you can do to help them cut better and last longer.

The Importance Of Sharp Teeth

Poultry peeling rollers have three principle parts: the shaft, the peel, and the blocks that keep the rollers in place. As the name implies, the actual peeling action of the roller is performed by the peel, which is lined with sharp teeth that tear into skin, gizzards, and membranes so that the bird can be further processed until it’s ready for consumption.

The condition of the roller’s teeth is one of the most important factors affecting yield size in poultry production. Poor teeth can easily lead to mis-cuts and lost product, while sharp and effective teeth can allow managers to get the best return possible for their investment.

Unfortunately, poultry roller teeth are subject to a considerable amount of wear-and-tear as part of their function. Beyond natural rusting, weathering, and breakdown over time, the teeth also bear direct damage from the birds they eviscerate.

Birds don’t have stomach enzymes that naturally break down food the way humans do; instead, they have to swallow hard objects, usually stones, and store them in their gizzard. The gizzard’s thick muscular walls then move those stones and cause them to grind up food particles, which then pass on to the bird’s true stomach.

However, while stones are the most common objects most peelers have to contend with, they are far from the only example. Chickens and turkeys will eat almost anything they come across, so it’s not unheard of to have peelers get damaged as they try to tear into other metal objects like coins, screws, and even bullets and brass bullet casings.

With so much wear and tear happening to a part that plays such a vital role, it stands to reason that plant managers are always on the hunt for ways to help their roller teeth last longer and perform better.

Getting Better Roller Teeth

When it comes to getting better teeth, there are aspects key things to keep in mind: preserving existing rollers to last longer, having existing rollers re-cut for a better function, and finding more effective replacement rollers.

Maintenance

Of course, just like the rest of the roller, the best way to keep poultry peeler teeth sharp is just by staying on top of regular cleaning and maintenance. Just like any other piece of your equipment, no roller lasts forever, but having a maintenance schedule in place for rollers can go a long way in giving them the longest lifespan possible.

Rollers should be cleaned every night during the sanitation shift, sprayed down with pressurized water to ensure that nothing is missed and that every part of the roller gets an even treatment. In addition to regular maintenance practices, don’t forget to check your rollers’ blocks and bushings to ensure they’re snug and allow the roller to spin effectively.

Likewise, it pays to invest in some preventive maintenance practices. In recent years, developments such as vibration analysis and thermal imaging have made the process of finding and eliminating problems in rollers faster and easier than ever before. These sorts of advances will also help you gauge how long a roller can be kept on the floor before it needs to be replaced.

Refurbishment

Getting rollers professionally refurbished is another way to squeeze a much efficiency out of them as possible. They’ll still need to be replaced eventually, but refurbishing can take them to like-new quality, which includes having their teeth sharpened to allow them to get yields on par with what they produced when they were first put on the line.

Of course, sharper teeth are just one of the reasons why refurbishing your plant’s rollers can be a cost-effective means of boosting plant productivity. For money-conscious plant managers, roller refurbishment is a great way to get like-new yields for about a third of the cost of replacement. Just keep in mind that not every roller can be refurbished.

Buying New

Maintenance and refurbishment can go a long way in getting better returns out of your rollers, but unfortunately the effectiveness these steps bring won’t last forever. Rollers are always breaking down over time, but the better constructed they are at the outset the longer they’ll last and the higher yields they’ll bring.

For this reason, one of the biggest components of achieving better teeth in your plant’s rollers is to simply start buying better quality rollers. Refurbish and maintain them, but take care to understand the factors influencing them and the warning signs indicating that a roller is due for replacement – and don’t be afraid to take a roller off the line and replace it if it has lost efficiency.

In recent years, many poultry producers have begun implementing custom rollers in their plants. Custom roller creation utilizes a step-by-step process that incorporates classic techniques with modern advances in order to create rollers that outlast their factory original counterparts while simultaneously boosting per-bird yield.

Sharp teeth are just one of many important aspects that determine a poultry peeling roller’s efficiency. For more information about how to get more out of your rollers, download our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Peeling Roller, and start getting better yields at your plant today!

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The secret is in the design.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at the journey a roller takes to get from raw material to finished package, and how the specific steps that custom roller manufacturers take help them provide poultry plant managers with better, more effective rollers than the factory originals.

The Roller Creation Process

A typical custom poultry peeling roller usually takes about two weeks to create and ship. Each new roller is created following a number of specific steps necessary to cut it into the specific length, diameter, and pattern for its given function. While certain steps might be skipped depending on specifications, every roller’s creation will follow the same general process.

The peeling roller creation process involves nine key steps:

1. Arrival

Raw materials arrive at the roller manufacturer’s site as metal shafts that have been cut to a rough size that will then be cut down further based on roller’s intended function. These shafts can come in tool or stainless steel construction based on customer specification.

2. Machining

Once they’ve arrived, the bare shafts are machined down, cutting off excess material to form the base of the roller and give it its proper cut based on its intended function. In this step, rollers built for older machines can be improved using modern processes to give them better, sharper angles on the teeth than was possible during their original counterparts.

3. Turning

After being machined to the right size, the shaft is then turned using a turning machine or lathe which uses a cutting tool to chip away excess material until the shaft reaches its correct diameter. The turning process ensures that the shaft of the roller fits snugly within the rolling machine’s blocks and bushings so that it can rotate effectively.

4. Hobbing

Once the shaft has reached the proper diameter, it is then placed into a gear hobbing machine to be hobbed. Hobbing cuts splines into the shaft that increase its torque and helps even the load distribution across the roller as it turns, helping the roller create better, fuller cuts.

5. Keying

After hobbing, the shafts then have keyways put into them. Where hobbing increases torque in the roller, mechanical keying helps increase the transmission of torque from the rotating peeler to the shaft.

6. Flatting

Next, the roller has flats installed, thin pressed steel plates which act as linear guides that maintain rigidity and stiffness within the shaft while maintaining a low friction coefficient. Not all rollers require flatting: whether or not a roller requires flats is dependent on its function.

7. Heat Treatment

Whether or not the roller has flats installed, it is then sent to heat treatment. The metal is superheated and then quickly cool, changing its microstructure to make the metal harder and less brittle while simultaneously improving its corrosion resistance.

8. Blasting and Polishing

Finally, after the roller returns from heat treatment, it is sandblasted and polished down, removing any rust and shaping it into its final diameter. At the this point, the roller is ready to be put into production.

9. Shipment

The roller is shipped to the customer, and once received it is ready to be fitted into the plant manager’s existing machines and go to work saving money, providing better yields, and creating a better poultry plant.

For more information about poultry peeling rollers, the many benefits that great rollers can bring to a plant, and how you can find the best rollers  (and get the most out of the ones you already have), download our free informative ebook, The Anatomy of a Poultry Peeling Roller. 

The post From Raw to Rolling – A Step-By-Step Process of Creating a Custom Poultry Roller appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

While new and developing technologies like vibration analysis and thermal imaging are pushing the industry forward, many managers are also looking inward – getting more out of their older, existing machines. Custom poultry rollers present a cost-cutting and efficiency-boosting measure that can help them do just that.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at customized poultry peeling rollers, the problems they can solve, and the benefits they can bring to poultry plants, both short-term and going into the future.

The Problem With Old Machines

Unfortunately, as we’ve discussed in some of our previous blogs, no roller lasts forever. The maximum recommended lifespan for any given poultry peeling roller is 6-8 weeks; after this point, the roller will become less and less effective until eventually the machine has to be taken off the line so that the old rollers can be taken off and replaced with new ones.

While this usually isn’t a big issue, it can become a major one if your plant operates using older machinery – especially poultry peeling machines that are now out of production. Of course, the problem with older machines isn’t the overall machines themselves but rather the difficulty that comes with trying to find replacements for individual parts.

Just because a machine is older doesn’t mean it can’t get the job done. In fact, with how expensive entire poultry peeling machines can be to replace, it’s common to find plants operating on decades-old equipment. After all, if yields are staying at acceptable levels, why run the risk of taking a working machine off the line to replace it with an expensive new one?

The problem is that most new poultry peeling rollers are made specific to their affiliated machine. If the overall machine is out of production, that means new rollers are too – so even if your existing machine is in working condition and you only really need new rollers, you’ll still be forced to replace the entire machine.

Managers can take steps to maintain their rollers to maximize their effective lifespans, but eventually they’ll be forced to sacrifice an entire functional machine just because of one broken piece.

That’s where custom rollers come in.

Custom Rollers And How Help Plants Save

Customized rollers can help plants tremendously. Unlike traditional machinery manufacturers, custom roller manufacturers can create rollers that are built to fit any size or equipment specification, allowing managers to fix the small problem without having to shell out for an entire replacement machine.

Custom rollers can bring a host of short- and long-term benefits to poultry plants that use them. Some of the biggest advantages to incorporating custom rollers include:

Monetary Savings

On the front end, one of the biggest advantages custom rollers is the expense of machine replacement. Using custom rollers, you no longer have to throw away your older functioning machinery and can instead simply replace the rollers for a fraction of the cost.

Time is also a consideration in this area. Every minute a machine is off the line means a minute that it’s not making money for the plant; since replacing the rollers on a machine is a much quicker process that replacing the entire machine, managers that utilize custom rollers can get their plants back up to optimal production levels in a much quicker time frame.

Higher Yields

One of the benefits of custom rollers is that, while they are made to fit older machines, they are created using the improved processes that have developed over time to make them more effective than ever.

For instance, DeLong’s custom rollers are built with a specific angle on the teeth to make them more aggressive, giving them better peeling action than a traditional factory model. This means that not only can you keep a working machine on the line without having to replace it, but can actually bring it up to the standard of modern machines.

Refurbishment

Custom rollers can not only save you from having to replace the whole machine but can even save you the cost of replacing individual rollers. In addition to creating brand new rollers, many custom roller manufacturers can also refurbish certain types of rollers, bringing them back up to like-new efficiency for even less than the cost of replacement.

While refurbishment is a complicated process and only certain types of rollers can be refurbished, refurbishing where possible can result in big savings.

Gizzard harvester transport rollers, for example, often come with a hefty price tag ranging from $3,000-$4,000 a piece. By sending them in for refurbishment, managers can have their existing rollers’ shafts rewelded and teeth re-sharpened back to like-new quality for a fraction of the cost.

The bottom line: for budget-conscious poultry plant managers looking to get a longer effective lifespan out of their existing machines, custom rollers present incredible potential for savings.

If you’re interested in learning more about what makes for an effective poultry peeling roller, and how you can push your roller towards greater yields and higher efficiency, check out our free informative guide, The Anatomy of a Poultry Peeling Roller, for great tips and strategies you can use to push your rollers further.

The post How Custom Poultry Rollers Can Result in Big Savings appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

However, as production methodology continues to adapt and improve into the 21st century, many plant managers and engineers are turning to new and emerging technologies to increase plant efficiency. In our previous two-part blog series, we explored one such technology gaining traction in the industry: vibration analysis technology, and the many benefits it brings.

Thermal imaging is another emerging technological innovation that many managers are utilizing in their plants. In this blog, we’ll take a look at thermal imaging technology, how it works, and how plants can use it to maximize poultry roller efficiency in their plants.

What Is Thermal Imaging?

Thermal imaging is a classification of non-invasive imaging that uses infrared rays to detect radiation patterns and display them as pictures known as thermograms. Any object with a temperature higher than absolute zero (effectively any object on earth) emits infrared light that is invisible to the human eye; thermal imaging simply allows us to “see” this light and interpret it.

Thermal imaging cameras work by measuring the amount of energy they “see” and converting it into a temperature measurement, which displayed as a color that humans can see. Because the radiation emitted by any object increases with its temperature, thermal imaging allows the viewer to see variations in temperature across any object or objects in the field of view – with each individual color representing a specific temperature.

Put simply, thermal imaging allows users to “see” temperature. But unlike traditional non-contact infrared thermometers, which provide a single average heat measurement of the area it covers, thermal imaging takes tens of thousands of measurements a second so viewers can see precise measurements of each individual object in the field of view.

Thermal imaging technology has been used for military and surveillance purposes for decades, but as the potential applications are better explored, it is seeing more and more integration into other fields – namely poultry production.

How It Works

Thermal imaging follows five basic steps:

1. An infrared camera uses a special lens capture and focus all of the heat signatures emitted by all the objects in its field of view.
2. The focused light is scanned by a phased array of infrared-detecting elements and within one-thirtieth of a second obtains temperature information from several thousand points in the field of view of the detector array in order to create a detailed temperature pattern called a thermogram.
3. The thermogram is translated into electric impulses and sent to a signal processing unit.
4. The signal processing unit uses a dedicated chip to translate the information received from the thermogram into data that can be interpreted by the display.
5. The data is received by the display and appears as a combination of all the impulses from all of the elements using colors that are visible to the human eye, with each color representing a different temperature.

Taken as a whole, the viewer can then easily see exactly how much heat radiation each object or element captured in the thermogram is giving off.

Thermal imaging devices come in two principle types:

• Un-cooled, the most common type, in which the infrared detector elements are contained in a unit that operates at room temperature.
• Cryogenically cooled, which store their elements in a container that cools them to below freezing temperatures. While cryogenically cooled devices are both more expensive and more fragile than their un-cooled counterparts, they offer far superior resolution and sensitivity, with the ability to detect temperature differences as small as 0.1° C from distances of over 300 meters.

Uses In Poultry Processing

As the technology continues to see increased adoption in the poultry production industry, it has seen use in a growing number of applications, including but not limited to:

• Measuring factory floor temperature
• Analyzing heat loss and gain from poultry houses
• Measuring egg temperatures in incubators and hatcheries
• Managing bird heat stress
• Evaluating radiant heating systems and insulation
• Measuring temperature stratification, air inlet flow patterns, and evaporative cooling system efficiency

For poultry rollers, thermal imaging is a great way for managers and engineers in the plant to monitor the friction created as a roller spins and use this information to gauge if – and where – problems exist.

More importantly, because thermal imaging is non-intrusive, it allows managers under time or budgetary constraints to get an idea of exactly where their rollers are in the lifecycle without having to take them off the production line for a more thorough inspection. For smaller plants, this can be a lifesaver come crunch time because it can give a manager insight into whether the roller can stay on the line or needs to be taken off before catastrophe strikes.

As with vibration analysis, this can also come into play when buying new poultry rollers. Using thermal imaging, a manager can have two rollers developed by separate manufacturers running simultaneously, and measure how each compares to the other and how much heat is created – then use this insight to help determine which roller will perform better in the long-run.

All in all, with a knowledgeable operator in place, thermal imaging provides yet another effective way for poultry plant managers to leverage emerging technology as a means of increasing efficiency and pulling better yields out of their rollers.

For more great tips and strategies that you can use to get higher yields and a longer lifespan out of your plant’s rollers, download our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, and start seeing higher yields today!

The post How Thermal Imaging Technology Helps Plants Maximize Roller Efficiency appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

No roller lasts forever. No matter how well-maintained, every poultry roller at your plant will eventually need to be replaced. For many managers, the biggest problem is knowing when to replace: most rollers will last 6-8 weeks, but certain factors can prematurely age a roller to the point of ineffectiveness.

Here are a few warning signs that it might be time to get a new set of poultry rollers:

Signs You Need To Replace Your Rollers

1. Fat And Skin Buildups

If you notice a buildup of fat and skin on your rollers, it means that they aren’t doing their jobs properly and aren’t effectively cutting through the skin and membranes on the bird.

Keeping rollers free of this buildup can go a long way in increasing their longevity, so inspect all of your rollers thoroughly for any signs of buildup. If you find any offenders, take them out of commission until you can replace them with new ones.

2. Broken or Depleted Functionality

Although rollers typically have a lifespan of 6 – 8 weeks, complications can arise from vibrations, shock, or high temperatures. From time to time, these factors can cause a roller to age prematurely, costing them efficiency and potentially depleting their functionality entirely.

If your rollers aren’t performing as well as they should be based on their age, your best options are to see about having them refurbished or, if the damage is too great, replacing them entirely.

3. Outdated Equipment

As advances in the poultry industry are made, better and better rollers make their way onto the market. Even if your rollers are producing solid yields, there is always the potential for better productivity – and even if you aren’t pursuing it, your competitors might be.

Stay up to date on the latest trends and breakthroughs in the industry, and if technological innovation makes your current equipment outdated, don’t be afraid to make an upgrade.

4. Dull Teeth

When it comes to poultry rollers, worn teeth cause more issues than any other factor. If the teeth are worn down, they can’t peel and skin poultry effectively, and miscuts can damage the bird and even make it unfit for consumption.

Start by looking for pits in the peel. If there are more pits in the teeth than can be fixed, seek a replacement as soon as possible. If the pits are over one-fourth inch of the teeth depth and cover more than 25% of the overall surface area of the peel, then the roller is worn out and needs to be replaced.

Other Areas To Inspect

Rollers are far from the only part of your plant subject to deterioration over time. However, certain factors, such as the roller blocks and bushings, can indirectly affect the yield if they are left on the peeling machine for too long without replacement.

Blocks and bushings should be cleaned on a routine basis, but they will still break down eventually. Bushings should be replaced about every two weeks and blocks should be replaced every four months.

Predictive Maintenance Techniques

Although roller replacement and installation can be a hassle, there are methods to detect breakdowns in your equipment before they occur. In the poultry production setting, effective predictive maintenance requires employees to routinely check issues like fat and skin buildups, dull teeth, etc. and identify problems before they arise.

Fortunately, technological advancements in the industry have provided managers with a number of ways to detect issues before substantial equipment damage can occur. Two of the best methods are:

1. Vibration Analysis: Machine parts emit different vibrations depending on how worn out they are. Handheld vibration monitors or monitors built into the equipment can inform your plant when a roller is beginning to deteriorate.

2. Thermal Imaging: When a part is being worn down or there is a circuit malfunction these areas will emit extra heat. Thanks to thermal imaging technology, you can now detect these areas and take proper action to repair them.

At the end of the day, every roller will at your plant will eventually need to be replaced. Fortunately, knowing the warning signs of a breakdown and using preventative maintenance technology can cut replacement costs and eliminate downtime simultaneously, so always be on the lookout for ways you can introduce preventative maintenance practices to your plant.

If you’re looking for more information about what makes a great poultry roller, and where you can find them, download our free informative guide, Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, and start getting better yields from your poultry processes today.

The post 4 Key warning signs that your plant’s poultry rollers need replacement appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

Read on for some of the most important factors affecting your poultry rollers, and some warning signs to be on the lookout for if it’s nearing time for replacement.

Teeth

The first and most obvious factor impacting a roller’s performance is the sharpness of its  inter-engaging helical teeth. A roller’s teeth will gradually get worn down after continued use, drastically degrading its effectiveness. Eventually, a roller’s teeth may be degraded to the point that they can no longer cut through a bird’s skin and membranes, at which point the roller will need to be refurbished or replaced.

Shaft

While the shaft of the roller isn’t directly responsible for peeling or evisceration, a roller with a degraded or poor-quality shaft won’t be able to spin properly, which can in turn cause miss-cuts or other damage to the bird. If a worn shaft is holding your roller back, don’t hesitate to find a suitable replacement.

Material

In addition to individual components like the teeth and shaft that can get worn down over time, it’s also important to take each roller’s overall material construction into account.

In most cases, rollers will come in one of two materials: tool steel or stainless steel. While there generally isn’t a difference in lifespan between the two materials, stainless steel rollers are about $38 more expensive per pair than their tool steel counterparts but make up the difference with increased protection against aging and rust. Choose wisely.

Action (Automatic vs Manual)

A roller’s productivity is also affected by whether it is intended for automatic or manual use. While poultry production as a whole continues to become increasingly more automated as time passes, many plants still operate using manual rollers, and each type has its associated pros and cons.

Because they work at a steady pace without fluctuations, automatic rollers produce a more predictable yield at an increased processing speed over manual rollers. And because automatic rollers don’t come into contact with human hands, they present a lower chance of contamination, worker injury, and other safety hazards.

On the other hand, while automatic rollers can process birds faster, manual rollers allow skinned birds to be reworked without further damage, resulting in a higher-quality final product. Manual rollers aren’t as prone to over-processing of products, and are also generally easier for employees to reach than automatics, consequently making them easier to clean and maintain.

Age

No matter how well-maintained, every piece of equipment at your plant will eventually succumb to the passage of time. Whether it be depleted functionality or obsolescence in the wake of new technological breakthroughs, knowing when to replace parts in your plant that have been in use for too long is essential to maintaining peak performance.

Rollers are no exception, and a roller’s age is generally the deciding factor for how well it will perform. The industry-standard lifespan for poultry rollers is 6-8 weeks; plants can expect to see overall yields drop by as much as 10% for every week after this period that the roller remains in use. Keeping your rollers clean and well-maintained can increase their effective lifespans, but keeping the same rollers in rotation for over 8 weeks is asking for trouble.

Want to learn more about poultry rollers, and how you can make the most of the ones in use at your poultry production plant? Check out our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, and start getting more out of your plant’s rollers today!

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In this blog, we’ll explore why refurbishing your plant’s rollers can be an effective solution for poultry plant managers, the benefits of refurbished rollers, and some of the most important factors to keep in mind when refurbishing.

Why You Should Refurbish Your Plant’s Rollers

In the past, all chicken part removal and evisceration had to be performed manually. Fortunately, poultry rollers now provide an efficient and cost productive method of cleaning your poultry. After a while, the rollers will feel the wear and tear of poultry processing and begin to break down.

First, it is important to understand the components of a poultry roller. The roller is comprised of a shaft, which has peels (also known as teeth) on the outside. The shaft spins and the peels dismember the chicken and remove the gizzard, membranes, etc. The roller is held in place by blocks and brass bushings that serve as sleeves to keep the roller from moving around or vibrating too much.

Although neck skinning rollers are, for the most part, the only types of rollers that can be refurbished instead of downright replaced, refurbishing your plant’s rollers is a smart choice to increase the life of your equipment and worth looking into. Here are just a few of the upsides to refurbishing your rollers.

The Benefits Of Replacing Rollers

1. Longer Lifespan: Rollers that are more durable and last longer will save your company money in replacement costs.

2. Greater Product Yield: This one is a no brainer. If you can process more poultry from a refurbished roller compared to one that isn’t, you’ll make more product and bring in more revenue.

3. Lowered Chance of Breaking and Downtime: Rollers that have been worn down from constant use are more susceptible to break. A broken roller is useless and only drains your company of profits until a new one is installed.

4. Reduced Chances of Machinery Cross Contamination: A contaminated product is unsanitary and cannot be sold. Refurbishing can assist in reducing this problem.

5. Cheaper Than Replacement: In certain situations, wholesale replacement is more costly than refurbishing and can cut into profits further than simply fixing up your current rollers would.

Factors To Keep In Mind When Refurbishing

If you have decided to replace your plant’s rollers, there are a few factors to keep in mind. Here are a few elements of poultry roller restoration that you should know:

1. Time Frame: Rollers in plants typically last for 6-8 weeks before they are too run down to properly process poultry. Don’t restore the roller until it has some wear on it. At the same time, don’t wait too late to restore it because it may be too late at that point.

2. Type of Roller: unless it is a neck skinning roller, you probably need to replace instead of repair. Unfortunately, neck skinning rollers are the only types that can be refurbished correctly.

3. Effectiveness of Rollers: At the end of the day, the plant should decide whether or not they need to refurbish their rollers. If you already have high quality rollers, definitely try to refurbish them as a way to save money. However, if there are higher quality rollers on the market and you think your plant is in need of an upgrade, let your current rollers run their life cycle and then replace them with better functioning equipment.

4. Teeth Condition: The rule of thumb in the poultry processing industry in terms or roller restoration is to check the quality of the teeth. If the shaft has some damage or wear and tear but the teeth are fine, then it is time to refurbish your rollers. However, if the teeth are broken, damaged, or worn out, then restoration is no longer an option and it is time to get a replacement.

Keep in mind that, no matter how well-preserved, you will eventually have to replace your rollers. However, refurbishing them is a great way to save money and squeeze out some extra productivity from your rollers before getting new ones.

If you’re interested in learning more about poultry rollers, how they fit into your plant’s overall operation, and how you can find the best roller solution for your operation, download our free informative guide, Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, for more information.

The post How and Why to refurbish your plant’s poultry rollers appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

Unclean rollers that are left to sit out will gradually collect rust, dirt, and animal fragments. If these contaminants are left to build up for too long, eventually a breakdown is inevitable. By adhering to a strict cleaning and maintenance schedule, small problems won’t have a chance to snowball into big ones, and you’ll be able to give your rollers a much longer operational lifespan.

In addition to working longer, cleaned and maintained rollers will also work better. The same contaminants and buildup that can gradually kill a roller can also cause it to dull and perform poorly.

The result is that clean and well-maintained rollers can not only cost you less in terms of repair, but can make your plant more money both in product quality and in overall product yield.

Keeping Rollers Clean

Rollers should be cleaned every night during the sanitation shift. This is accomplished by thoroughly spraying each set of rollers with highly-pressurized water. Having each set of rollers running while being sprayed down ensures that nothing is missed and that every part of the roller gets an even treatment.

Always keep an eye out on the water supply used for cleaning and lubrication. Under each machine, there is a ⅜” water supply feeding a water bar that provides a steady water supply to each set of rollers.

This ensures that water sprays on the bottom side of the rollers, keeping gizzards from floating on the water on top of rollers. If this bar is broken or missing, it will need to be replaced as soon as possible.

Don’t create a roller cleaning plan without taking the overall plant layout into account. Keeping certain pieces of equipment too close together can create areas that are hard to see or out of reach, making them harder to clean effectively. Inspect each machine carefully for these types of areas and instruct all employees on how to properly get to them.

Roller Maintenance

In addition to keeping rollers clean, it’s also vital to keep them well-maintained and working properly. Have your maintenance team thoroughly trained on all of the ins and outs of each roller set in your plant, paying particular attention to probable situations that can arise and how they can be fixed.

As time passes, consumer demand continues to rise, making machine breakdowns and the associated opportunity costs that much more painful. This has led many plants to start organizing plant processes with predictive maintenance in mind.

Predictive Maintenance

Predictive maintenance hinges on keeping downtime and maintenance costs as low as possible by identifying and eliminating any potential problems as early as possible, before they can fester and cause long-term damage.

Consider looking into vibration analysis and thermal imaging software, which can interpret problem signs invisible to the naked eye, giving managers more time to develop an effective solution.

One crucial but often overlooked factor in effectively maintaining a roller is the quality of bushings and blocks being used. Check out the section “Roller Replacement” for more information.

Looking for more great tips and strategies you can use to push your poultry rollers further? Check out our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Peeling Roller, and push your poultry production plant further today!

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