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!

The post Tips and Strategies for Maintaining Sharp Teeth on Poultry Rollers appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

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.

In our previous entry, we explained what vibration analysis technology is, how it works, and the advances that have been made as the technology continues to improve. In this section, we’ll dig deeper into the many benefits vibration analysis can bring to any poultry plant, and how managers can use this information to get better, longer lasting poultry rollers for their plants.

The Benefits Vibration Analysis Brings

While there potential applications vibration analysis can bring to a plant are endless, four key benefits make it particularly attractive to production facilities:

1. Non-Intrusive Monitoring

Vibration analysis allows for effective, non-intrusive monitoring for any machine at any time, from startup to shutdown and everywhere in-between. Downed machines can be quickly diagnosed to determine the cause, while machines still on the line can be analyzed for any potential problems without having to be taken off the line or disassembled.

This component can also be applied in areas beyond maintenance and repair. For instance, when deciding on the best decision for a replacement machine, managers can run two machines from different manufactures and monitor and use the results to determine if specific design differences correlate to increased – or decreased – overall performance.

For smaller plants with limited budgets that can’t afford to take a key machine off the line during critical periods, unobtrusive monitoring allows managers to see exactly how long they can keep the machine on the line before they risk a breakdown. With deadlines looming, this can be the deciding factor in getting quotas filled.

2. Problem Recognition

Using vibration analysis, maintenance personnel can not only determine that a problem exists, but also the type of problem present. Different problems require different solutions, so one benefit for maintenance personnel is the ability to identify if the problem stems from misalignment, defective bearings, loose parts, or something else, and respond accordingly.

If equipment is being pushed beyond design specifications, such as operating at higher speeds, loads, or temperatures than intended, the problem can be quickly understood and properly rectified.

Modern analysis systems can also determine if misalignment was due to machine error or improper repair and maintenance practices. Improper bearing installation and replacement, inaccurate shaft alignment, or imprecise rotor balancing can be ascertained early and addressed appropriately. If the same recurring problems continue to spring up, managers can use these insights to revise their practices and educate workers on what’s going wrong.

3. Customization:

Machine monitoring is widely customizable based on the needs of the plant. Managers incorporating vibration analysis tech can tailor the system to fit the plant’s existing processes and maintenance schedule for a seamless integration.

Larger plants might want constant surveillance on every piece of equipment, while smaller or budget-restrained plants might only have constant monitoring for the most vital machines and have the rest analyzed on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.

4. Accident Prevention

Of all the potential benefits vibration analysis can bring to a plant, undoubtedly the greatest is the ability to prevent accidents before they happen.

By analyzing trends in vibration levels across any given machine, workers can project the machine’s condition into the foreseeable future. This allows them schedule necessary maintenance at times when the machine was already scheduled to be down, meaning that short-term productivity never has to take a dip in exchange for long-term effectiveness.

Vibration analysis allows maintenance personnel to shift their focus from putting out fires to ensuring they never have the opportunity to occur in the first place. On the front end, this means better installation quality and higher precision in initial alignment and balancing. Over time, it means lower average equipment vibration levels throughout the entire plant.

Vibration Analysis For Poultry Rollers

While vibration analysis technology can be applied to a number of operations throughout any production plant – such as steam and gas turbines, pumps, motors, compressors, machine tools, and gearboxes – it serves a particularly vital role in poultry plants in regard to poultry peeling rollers.

A recurring problem for many plant owners is not knowing when to refurbish rollers and when to replace them outright. Of course, sometimes the problem stems from dirt or grime build-up, and can be alleviated just using proper cleaning procedures. Likewise, analysis can indicate that a roller has simply fallen out of alignment, saving you the cost of replacement if you can simply set it back correctly in place

Vibration analysis takes out the guesswork so that managers can make the best, most informed decision on how to proceed. While the technology is not without its challenges, with the proper education and training, it can mean all the difference for poultry production managers looking for higher yields and a more productive plant.

Incorporating vibration analysis is just one of many steps poultry plants can take to get the most out of their rollers. For more tips and strategies you can use to push your poultry rollers further, check out our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, and start getting better yields at your plant today!

The post Using Vibration Analysis for Better, More Effective Poultry Rollers, Part 2 appeared first on DeLong’s Gizzards & Poultry Processing Equipment.

If that wasn’t bad enough, these problems can snowball during peak production periods throughout the year. With deadlines looming and quotas to fill, many machines are already running overtime; when one breaks, the others have to work even harder to make up the difference – making another machine breakdown even more likely.

With so much at stake, managers are always on the lookout for strategies to reduce downtime in their plants. While there are a number of great practices any plant can take to keep downtime to a minimum, a growing number of plants are turning toward new and innovative technologies to keep everything running smoothly.

One such solution lies in the growing field of vibration analysis technology. In this blog, we’ll take a deeper look into vibration analysis, how it works, and how the technology continues to improve in effectiveness.

What Is Vibration Analysis?

In any complex machine, individual parts will move back and forth from a position of rest during operation. Some vibration is unavoidable, but excess movement can create unwanted byproducts, such as excess heat and friction, that can cripple a machine’s overall effectiveness and eventually cause a complete breakdown.

Enter vibration analysis.

With this technology at their disposal, plant managers gain the ability to monitor and record the vibration levels of any machine at their plant. The data obtained can then be analyzed and used to determine the operating and mechanical condition of any piece of equipment and identify potential problem areas in the machine before catastrophe strikes.

Should something break, the repair team can use vibration analysis to trace the root of the problem and repair it more quickly than with traditional means. Better yet, common problems that can cut any machine’s life short – such as defective bearings, mechanical looseness, worn or broken gears, and so on – can be quickly identified and rectified before they can fester and negatively impact the machine’s effectiveness.

How It Works

Most vibration analysis systems have three core components:

1. Transducer: Also called the “signal pickup,” detects vibrations
2. Signal analyzer – receives and interprets data received from the transducer
3. Computer – uses analysis software to present information in a legible and actionable manner to the operator

These components can then be configured to form a continuous online system, a periodic analysis system using portable equipment, or a multiplexed system that samples a series of transducers at predetermined time intervals.

Using the measurements of vibration amplitudes in a given machine, managers can gain valuable insights about the machine’s overall fortitude, including the accuracy of shaft alignment and balance, the condition of bearings and gears, the effect on the machine stemming from resonance from housings, piping, and other structures, and more.

How Vibration Analysis Has Improved

While it has seen widespread adoption in recent years, vibration analysis as a tool has existed for some time. However, as the technology continues to improve, the scope of analysis – and the level of insights managers can gleam – has only increased with time.

In the past, vibration analysis was a fairly complex process, requiring the user to dial an instrument through the full spectrum of identifiable frequencies in order to get an accurate reading. The operator then had to manually compare the peak frequencies with the operating speed, which could be cross-referenced to determine a number of possible causes.

As with virtually every other industry, automation has gone a great way to make vibration analysis a simpler and more streamlined process than before. Modern operators can monitor the full vibration spectrum of three axes simultaneously, giving them a snapshot of the entire machine’s vibration levels that can then be dissected to identify individual problems.

This information is then compiled into a database that can be accessed by anyone working on the machine to find out exactly what’s wrong with a machine, sometimes before anyone knew that a problem existed in the first place.

As vibration analysis technology continues to improve, so do the benefits they bring to the poultry production industry – poultry rollers in particular. For an in-depth exploration of the benefits vibration technology can provide, and how managers can use them to get better yields and higher efficiency out of their rollers, continue to Part 2.

However, vibration analysis is only one component of finding the best poultry rollers for your plant. If you’re looking for more information on giving poultry rollers at your plant a longer, more productive lifespan, download our free informative guide, The Lifecycle of a Poultry Roller, for all the best tips and strategies to help you make the best decision for your plant.

The post Using Vibration Analysis for Better, More Effective Poultry Rollers, Part 1 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.

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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.

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