Chicken nuggets get a smoother ride

Linkx Systems has installed a second Matrix collator/shrink wrapper at Birds Eye to process frozen chicken nuggets.

The Matrix machines can handle up to 300 cartons a minute. Their electronic operator interface is intuitive with powerful diagnostic functions.

A 10-axis precision servo system controls all motions for total repeatability, even when operating at full throughput.

Normally, products are fed into the machine at a high level, from where a slat band conveyor carries them at a slight downward angle into the collator. However, Birds Eye needed a low-level entry arrangement for its second machine because it had to be fitted in place of existing equipment, so the cartons would be conveyed upwards to the collator. The icy cartons had a tendency to slip when the infeed conveyor started and stopped.

Linkx modified the control software so that the infeed conveyor, instead of just starting and stopping, smoothly ramped up to speed and down to a stop.

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