Marel (Iceland) - The latest member of Marel’s multihead weigher family tree is the MHW Medium Fresh. Featuring 20 heads, it can be used for packing fresh, sticky poultry parts into fixed-weight batches. The MHW Medium will doubtlessly become one of the most popular weighers of its family, as birds are getting bigger worldwide.

For various projects around the world, particularly in markets where bigger broilers up to 3500 grams (7.7 lbs) are common, the MHW Medium is the perfect solution.

Proven Technologies:

The MHW Medium is based on the proven technologies of previous generations of multihead weighers from Marel. It is backed by the same Innova software and it can therefore perform up to six different target weight jobs as well as simultaneous catch-weight and fixed-weight jobs. It features an internet connection for remote support and optional camera monitoring.

The Marel MHW Medium is suitable for the weighing and batching of typical fresh poultry products such as breast fillets, thighs, drumsticks, wings, tenderloins and nuggets.

Two by two:

Two photocell sensors monitor the flow of product to the unit for continuity. Products are conveyed upwards and released on the rotating center cone. They are then distributed to the weighing hoppers via the screw feeding channels. alternate screw turns clockwise, while the screws between them turn anti-clockwise.

One piece at a time:

The MHW Medium has a redesigned top, equipped with a new product leveler for better infeed and recessed buffer zones for better product flow. The new screws allow correct singulation; products cannot stick to each other. Two sensors at the end of each channel detect when a product has passed and has been dropped into the storage hopper. The screw will stop feeding products until the hopper is empty again. All these improvements increase the percentage of single pieces fed to the hoppers.

Perfect batches:

With only one product in each hopper, it is much easier to make perfect fixedweight batches. The accurate combination of 3, 4 or 5 products means precise tray weights, resulting in fewer rejects and higher throughput. When using five hoppers at a capacity of 50 products per minute, the computer will have 3,000 combinations to choose from, allowing it to make the perfect batch. This results in considerably less give-away.

Split configuration:

The MHW can feature an optional product splitter, located on its top. When configured as a “split” machine, it is possible to feed the MHW Medium with two different bulk products. They are conveyed to the top of the weigher from where they are kept separate for the rest of the process, allowing two different jobs to be batched at the same time. An example would be the simultaneous batching and packing of poultry wings and thighs. The batches could consist of 1,000 gram (2.2 lbs) wings and 1,500 gram (303 lbs) thighs.

A russian wing mix:

When configured as a “mix” machine, the MHW Medium will also run two different products, although in this case they come together to make a mixed batch. For example, it is possible to run 400 gram (14 oz) right wings and 400 gram left wings, which will eventually join each other into the same package. In Eastern Europe and Russia, supermarkets like to present their whole wings in a tray with left and right wings nicely arranged in a so-called “pigtail” pattern. The Marel MHW Medium is the perfect system for carrying out such a challenging automated packing job.