A high-speed food article slicing machine with a slicing station, a moveable frame supporting a food article feed mechanism frame, a food article gate, and a safety guard system for detecting an intrusion into the machine. Food articles are loaded onto a lift tray and raised to a staging position where food articles are in contact with a food article gate. The lift tray is located in line with the food article feed paths such that lateral shifting of food articles into the feed paths is not needed. Food article grippers, individually driven along feed paths by an overhead conveyor, move food articles over the food article gate towards the slicing station. The food article gate functions to assist in removal of food article end portions. The slicing machines utilizes a horizontally radiating laser intrusion detector to shut down systems when an unwanted intrusion is sensed.

A gripping system of a food processing machine includes a gripping device, an airflow sensing device, at least one processor, and at least one memory. The gripping device is moveable between an open configuration and a closed configuration. The airflow sensing device is configured to sense an airflow. The at least one processor is in electronic communication with the airflow sensing device. The at least one memory is in electronic communication with the at least one processor. The at least one memory comprises programming code for execution by the at least one processor. The programming code is configured to move the gripping device from the open configuration to the closed configuration when the airflow sensing device senses a change in the airflow.

A food article slicing machine includes a food article loading apparatus with a lift tray assembly for moving food articles from a staging position to an elevated position at a beginning of a food article feed path, a food article feed apparatus disposed over the food article loading apparatus having an upper conveyor assembly with an independently driven endless conveyor belt used in cooperation with a food article gripper for moving the food articles along the food article feed path, a food article stop gate that forms part of the food article feed path and opens to drop food article end portions, and a slicing station at an end of the food article feed path with a knife for slicing the food articles.

A food processing machine (10) and a method of cutting slices or portions from a food product (60) in a food processing machine are described. The food processing machine comprises an end gripper (40) for gripping a trailing end (62) of a food product travelling along a food product flow path towards the cutter. A gripper drive assembly (41) is arranged to move the end gripper from stowed position below the food product flow path to a raised position in the food product flow path after a food product has passed over the end gripper and then bring the end gripper into engagement with the trailing end of the food product.

A slicing machine for foodstuffs in block form has a slicing blade for the foodstuff in block form and a shaft for receiving the foodstuff. The longitudinal direction of the shaft corresponds to the feed direction of the foodstuff in block form. The shaft has a first shaft region and a second shaft region which are at least partially separated from one another by a slot. At least one offset lies between the two shaft regions. The two shaft regions can be moved relative to one another such that the offset can be reduced by the movement.

A method and a machine tool for processing workpieces is described, comprising a workpiece movement device and a workpiece support that supports both a workpiece during a processing operation and a workpiece remainder produced from the workpiece during the processing operation, wherein the workpiece support comprises a first support portion and an additional support portion, wherein the first support portion comprises a loading-side support portion arranged in a loading region of the machine tool, wherein the additional support portion is arranged to move relative to the loading-side support portion between the loading region and an unloading region of the machine tool, wherein the unloading region is offset in a horizontal direction from the loading region, wherein the loading-side support portion is arranged to move in a vertical direction between a loading level and a bypass level located above or below the loading level.

A slicing machine for slicing a product calibre into slices and producing shingled or stacked portions from the slices includes a slicing unit, a feeding unit for feeding at least one calibre to the slicing unit along a feeding direction, a discharge unit for discharging the slices or the portions in a direction of travel of the machine, and a gripper movable along the feeding direction. The gripper includes a product parameter detection apparatus configured to detect at least one product parameter of the calibre of product held by the gripper. The product parameter detection apparatus is configured to communicate with a product parameter analysis apparatus configured to store product parameters detected by the product parameter detection apparatus and/or to process them into a processing result.

To ensure that, during slicing, a gripper can remain stationary when a log which it is holding has been completely sliced while other grippers move forward for the slicing of the other logs they are holding, a hydraulic cylinder unit is arranged between each gripper and a gripper carriage, which unit is either switched pressureless in a lane of the completely sliced log or is hydraulically connected to the other hydraulic cylinder units in order to allow the displacement of hydraulic medium from the hydraulic cylinder unit of the completely sliced log, which retracts during further slicing, into the other hydraulic cylinder units.

The invention relates to a method for a multitrack provision of web-like interleaved sheet material at a cutting region in which products supplied on multiple tracks are cut into slices and interleaved sheets are introduced which are cut off from the provided interleaved sheet material in the cutting region and for which a normal length is predefined which is dependent on the respective application, in which material webs are removed from at least two material stores which are each associated with one or more tracks; and in which the material consumption of at least one material store is impacted during operation, in particular in dependence on residual quantities in the material stores, in that the length of the interleaved sheets is varied in the respective track or tracks with respect to the normal length at least for this material store.

The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus having a gripper for gripping a product, in particular a food product, having a gripper base, and having a gripper head fastened to the gripper base, wherein the gripper head comprises at least one suction device that can be acted on by vacuum and that can be brought into contact with a section, in particular an end section, of the product to suck it in, with the gripper head being releasably fastened to the gripper base