Optimal portion control using variable cutter-blade spacing in can-filling

In the present context, optimal portion control refers to the process of pr eparing can-filling portions so that the deviation of the portion weight fr om a specified target weight is minimized. An approach has been developed f or achieving this where a batch of objects is placed in a linearly overlapp ed optimal arrangement and then cut into portions using a series of paralle l blades. The parameters of optimization are the arrangement order, orienta tion and degree of overlap of the objects. The approach has been demonstrat ed to produce impressive improvements in the application of fish canning. F or this application, two approaches of optimal cutting are compared in the present paper. In one approach, the blade spacing is kept fixed and constan t at a predetermined value. In the second approach, the blade spacing is va ried for each portion after the objects are placed according to the optimal arrangement, where the target weight distribution is allowed to vary withi n a tolerance interval. The results presented in this paper indicate that t he second approach produces a significantly higher percentage of acceptable portions than the first approach. What is presented are results from compu ter simulations, utilizing true data as measured from actual batches of fis h. The paper demonstrates the potential benefit of the optimal portion cont rol approach when applied in an industrial fish-canning process. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.