A grinding machine for grinding foodstuffs, such as meat or the like, includes an orifice plate at the outlet of a grinding head. The orifice plate has collection passages that discharge a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate. A separator assembly is positioned downstream of the orifice plate for separating the soft material from the hard material. The separator assembly includes a separator chamber that receives the mixture of soft material and hard material, in combination with a rotatable separator screw positioned within the separator chamber. Rotation of the separator screw functions to separate the soft material from the hard material. Soft material is discharged through perforations in the separator chamber and hard material is discharged through a discharge of the separator chamber.

A grinding machine for grinding foodstuffs, such as meat or the like, includes an orifice plate at the outlet of a grinding head. The orifice plate has collection passages that discharge a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate. A separator assembly is positioned downstream of the orifice plate for separating the soft material from the hard material. The separator assembly includes a separator chamber that receives the mixture of soft material and hard material, in combination with a rotatable separator screw positioned within the separator chamber. Rotation of the separator screw functions to separate the soft material from the hard material. Soft material is discharged through perforations in the separator chamber and hard material is discharged through a discharge of the separator chamber.

A separation assembly for a food product separating machine configured to separate meat product from bone product includes a separation chamber defined by a circumferential side wall, a longitudinal axis, and a radius. The separation chamber includes a plurality of apertures disposed in the circumferential side wall and at least one V-shaped groove disposed along an inner surface of the circumferential side wall. The V-shaped groove is defined by a vertex and an angle bisector of the vertex and is formed in an inner surface of the chamber such that the angle bisector is tilted relative to the radius of the chamber.

A shredder device including a feed hopper, a screw conveyor and a shredder module, wherein the screw conveyor includes a screw conveyor shaft driven by a screw conveyor motor unit and having a screw conveyor flight formed thereon, and the shredder module includes a cutting drum having cutting openings formed therein, and a main screw rotatably arranged in the shredder module and having a main screw shaft, which is driven by a main screw motor unit, and a main screw flight which is formed thereon and passes over the cutting openings. The shredder device enables a higher cutting capacity. The main screw shaft is coaxially enclosed by the screw conveyor shaft inside the feed hopper up to the shredder module.

A grinding machine for grinding foodstuffs, such as meat or the like, includes an orifice plate at the outlet of a grinding head. The orifice plate has collection passages that discharge a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate. A separator assembly is located downstream of the orifice plate for separating the soft material from the hard material. The separator assembly includes a tapered, perforated separator chamber that receives the mixture of soft material and hard material, in combination with a rotatable separator screw located within the separator chamber. Rotation of the separator screw functions to separate the soft material from the hard material and force the soft material through the perforations in the separator chamber. An adjustment arrangement enables the axial position of the separator screw to be adjusted within the separator chamber.

A grinding machine includes first feed screw, first head, first center pin, first knife assembly, bushing and first orifice plate. Second feed screw is coupled to first center pin and rotates within second head. Second feed screw is positioned against the bushing such that the bushing acts as a thrust bearing. Second center pin is coupled to second feed screw and is configured to rotate a second knife assembly. Second orifice plate is arranged on second center pin. Second mounting ring can be linearly adjusted relative to second head to axially position second orifice plate between a stop shoulder of second head and a lip of second mounting ring. Second feed screw may include a plurality of flights arranged in a split flight configuration including one or more ingress end flights and one or more egress end flights.

A meat grinding reclamation system is disclosed herein. The system uses a first meat grinder coaxially coupled to a second meat grinder. The first meat grinder separates meat from undesired material such as gristle, hard fat, connective tissue, sinew, and bone. Most of the meat is ground, while the undesired material is remixed into a small portion of the meat and is moved from the first grinder into the second grinder. The second grinder separates remaining meat and carrier meat from the undesired material, grinding the reclaimed meat and moving it into a bin with the originally separated meat. The waste material is moved to a waste bin. Pressurized air may be used to prevent the waste material from becoming clogged in the system.

A grinding machine includes first feed screw, first head, first center pin, first knife assembly, bushing and first orifice plate. Second feed screw is coupled to first center pin and rotates within second head. Second feed screw is positioned against the bushing such that the bushing acts as a thrust bearing. Second center pin is coupled to second feed screw and is configured to rotate a second knife assembly. Second orifice plate is arranged on second center pin. Second mounting ring can be linearly adjusted relative to second head to axially position second orifice plate between a stop shoulder of second head and a lip of second mounting ring. Second feed screw may include a plurality of flights arranged in a split flight configuration including one or more ingress end flights and one or more egress end flights.

A meat grinding reclamation system is disclosed herein. The system uses a plate having a plurality of holes through which meat is processed, and a smaller number of waste material indentations that feed waste material away from the meat into separate uniform curved openings. The center of the plate is provided with a shaft opening, which allows use of a center drive shaft across the plate.

A grinding machine for grinding food-products, such as meat or the like, includes an orifice plate at the outlet of a grinding head. The orifice plate has collection passages that discharge a mixture of soft material and hard material through the orifice plate. A separator assembly, including a separator screw, separation chamber, metering auger, and metering cone, is located downstream of the orifice plate for separating the soft material from the hard material. The metering auger is fixedly coupled to a distal end of the separator screw and has a reduced diameter relative to the separator screw. The metering auger advances in a downstream direction the hard material of the mixture of soft material and hard material. The metering cone includes an internal conical portion and a metering passageway formed therein, where the metering auger is in communication with the metering passageway, and where a selected diameter of the metering auger defines an amount of the hard material that is advanced in the downstream direction through the metering passageway toward a discharge end.