A Novel Power-operated Fish Cutting Machine: Design and Performance Assessment

Design and Performance Assessment of Fish Cutting Machine

Abstract

Fish, a critical source of protein, plays a vital role in global food security. Fish processing involves descaling, gutting, deheading, and cutting. Traditionally small vendors and retailers manually cut the fish steaks using Sharp metal knives. However, manual cutting methods are inefficient, labor-intensive, and pose safety risks. This study presents a novel power-operated fish-cutting machine design, development, and performance evaluation to address these limitations. The machine incorporates a mainframe, cutting blade, roller system, feeding section, and power transmission mechanism. Its performance was assessed using various fish species (Catla, Silver sillago, Flying Fish) by analyzing the influence of cutting blade speed, feeding angle, and distance between the cutting blades on cutting efficiency, cutting time, and damage. The results demonstrated that all three factors significantly impacted the cutting process. By optimizing these parameters, the machine achieved a maximum efficiency of 98.59% with a cutting rate of 0.5 minutes per kilogram of fish at a roller speed of 1200 rpm, a feeding angle of 120 degrees, and a distance between the cutting blades of 40 mm for silver sillago. Furthermore, the study revealed that fish variety, size, length, and distance between the cutting blades significantly influence the machine's performance, highlighting the need for potential adjustments based on specific fish characteristics.