Conveying Auger with Positive Rake Angle for Meat Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cutting performance of cutting and separating devices with screw conveyors deteriorates over time due to adhesion of strong materials like collagen to the inner walls, leading to clogged cutting openings and reduced efficiency in meat processing.
Innovation Solution
The screw conveyor is designed with a positive rake angle and a sharpened cutting edge that effectively removes adhered food from the inner wall, featuring a groove with a specific outer contour and wedge angle, and inclined cutting openings that ensure sharp cutting and easy food passage, reducing material waste and bacterial load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional screw conveyor is used in a cutting and separating device, then the device can perform basic meat processing functions, but the cutting performance deteriorates over time due to adhesion of collagen and other strong materials to the inner wall and cutting openings
Solution Approach 1:
The screw conveyor is pre-formed with a positive rake angle and sharpened cutting edges during manufacturing. This preliminary preparation ensures that the cutting edge is always ready to effectively remove adhering foodstuffs before they can clog the cutting openings, maintaining cutting performance throughout the operating cycle without requiring intermediate maintenance or adjustment
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the screw conveyor by introducing a positive rake angle (10°-50°) and specific wedge angles (40°-80°) to the leading edge. These parameter changes transform the cutting edge into an effective tool that can actively remove adhering collagen and other strong materials, resolving the contradiction between maintaining cutting performance and extended operating time
2Productivity
If the entire screw conveyor is sharpened to improve cutting performance, then cutting efficiency increases, but manufacturing costs and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies the sharpened cutting edge with positive rake angle only to the leading edge of the screw conveyor where it contacts the food material and cutting openings. This localized quality enhancement focuses the sharpening effort only where it is most needed for cutting performance, rather than sharpening the entire screw conveyor, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and complexity while maintaining high cutting efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The screw conveyor is segmented into different functional zones: the leading edge with positive rake angle and sharpened cutting edge for active cutting and cleaning, and the remainder of the body with conventional geometry for material conveyance. This segmentation allows the expensive sharpening process to be applied only to the small critical section needed for cutting performance
3Loss of substance
If cutting openings are made larger to improve food passage, then material waste decreases, but the structural integrity and precision of the pressure housing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a positive rake angle and curved leading edge geometry on the screw conveyor to create an efficient cutting action that cleanly separates food plugs from the bulk material. This curved geometry allows effective cutting and food passage through optimally sized openings without requiring excessively large openings that would compromise pressure housing structural integrity
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a conveying screw (130) for a cutting and separating device (100), comprising a screw shaft (131) having at least one helical screw flight (132) integrally moulded thereon, which, in an installed position, has a front flank (140) for transporting a foodstuff by pushing, a rear flank (141) arranged on the opposite side, and, at its distal end (142) between the front flank (140) and the rear flank (141), a cylindrical portion (143), which is formed in the transition region to the front flank (140) of the screw flight (132) with a sharpened cutting edge (133), the sharpened cutting edge (133) having a positive rake angle (γ) arranged between the front flank (140) and a processing plane (144) oriented at right angles to the screw shaft (131). The problem addressed by the invention was to improve a conveying screw (130) in such a way that the cutting performance of the cutting and separating device (100) are significantly improved. The problem is solved in accordance with the invention in that the sharpened cutting edge (133) is formed from a groove (145) made on a distal end (142) of the front flank, the outer contour (146) of which groove cuts into the cylindrical portion (143).