Anchovy Processing Machine with Specially Designed Sorting Mechanism

Abstract

Anchovy is a famous or popular fish that is rich with nutrient such as protein and calcium
for such its tiny size. Normally, dried anchovies are packed into two categories which are
split and non-split version. Usually, the market price of the split anchovies is higher
compared to the non-split variant because they have undergone the splitting process, done
either manually or through a machine that further incurred additional cost. The traditional
method to split dried anchovies is to employ a group of people to split them in-half manually
by hand while the automated mode uses a specially customized anchovies processing
machine. The productivity of the traditional method is somewhat low and typically results
in a higher operating cost compared to the automated counterpart. One of the alternatives
to improve the current condition is to modify the machine by incorporating a separate
feeder mechanism into the machine original structure. The feeder is a mechanism that links
the storage (of the anchovies) to the entrance opening of the processing machine. This study
is carried out to analyze and determine which type of feeder mechanism can best be
implemented to the original structure to improve the feeding process of the anchovies into
the machine. The additional feeder mechanism was developed designed in anticipation of
further enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the machine.