Icelandic Group has purchased a new FleXicut water-jet cutting robot for high precision bone detection and removal, from Marel.
Equipped with high resolution X-ray and two water-jet cutters, as well as a traditional cutting blade, the FleXicut incorporates two critical processing steps in one machine: precisely locating the pinbones and then cutting the fillet to remove them.
Icelandic Group will be the first to install this machine, when it is set up in its Ny-Fiskur processing facility in Sandgerdi, Iceland. Not only will FleXicut enable Ny-Fiskur to produce bone-free products with virtually no manual handling, it will also broaden the processor’s range of product possibilities, says Marel.
The company claims that automation of the whitefish bone removal process with FleXicut is set to transform the whitefish industry by reducing the need for skilled labour as well as improving product handling and yields.
The FleXicut can perform a variety of cutting patterns thanks to the flexibility of using water-jets for the bone removal process, and the angle cutting option allows it to follow the curved lines of the bone frame very closely, thereby further reducing pinbone material. This means significant yield gains in the loin – the most valuable part of the fish – while greatly increasing value due to less manual handling throughout the process.
