Ideas for a Peeling Machine (Manual or Auto) Headless or Whole Prawns/Shrimp

Would squeezing them through rubber-covered rollers work? Do they have to be totally raw, or can you blanch them first? (These are just wild guesses; not sure they would work.)

Laitram and Skrmetta USA machines work on the rubber-coated

reciprocating roller principle. I tried this by making a prototype and it

did work but soon I found that it was difficult to maintain fine

clearance between the rollers due to rubber covering slipping or getting twisted

due to roller contact. Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to get

the rollers rubber coated and get them pin-through over here.

Briefly, the conventional roller peeling machines are meant for peeling

pre-cooked shrimp and consist of 38 rollers on a bed of steel.

Any two adjoining oppositely-rotating rollers separated by a thin plastic or aluminum

sheet maintain the clearance between the two, and are reciprocated at

different speeds as a result of which any shrimp entrapped in the slit between

the rollers gets a pinched and as it moves down along the tipped roller

through its entire length it get peeled.

Since absolute precision and special materials are required

to be build these machines, these are not workable in Pakistan where

skilled workers are scant and spares almost unavailable.

300/500 pieces per lb?!? those aren't shrimp the're sea monkeys!lol

This machine is good up to 90pp...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLi_3LYAets

http://www.jonsson.com/

You might consider getting your cutting wheels made with harder metal, tungsten carbide...

http://www.prawntomachine.com/

http://www.slatertools.com/rotary-broaches

Thanks a lot. I am trying to assess which kind of broach might be used

for the purpose. A non-technical processor told me that he saw a small

Japanese table-top peeling machine (manual) which consisted of an about

one foot long broach rotating beside a small pin-type roller. The shrimp

to be peeled was manually pushed legs down along the length of the slightly sloping broach and lo! the shrimp was peeled and no hurt was caused to the

fingers too!!

Obviously, this is not a bulk fed machine nor good for smaller shrimp, and has having disadvantages same as other machines

available on the market.

Let's try catch up with some new idea?? Squeezing seems to be

the answer but how??

Thanks, I have seen these machines too. The problem with them is

almost the same as previously posted above, ie, labor intensive (each

machine requires one operator), unsuitable for smaller sized shrimp,

excessive wear and tear of cutters, precise adjustments, repair and maintenance, , hand-fed, etc

Thanks a lot. I am aware of these machines but they are suitable only

for larger shrimp. Here we manually peel small shrimp, Peeled Undeveined Shrimp (PUD) in sizes

ranging from 100/200 to 400/600 shrimp per lb. Hand peeling is the best

with least broken but the problems with it are delayed processing often posing

risk of semi-decomposition, mixing up of admixture with the meat,

labor intensiveness, etc.

Jonsson machine do well with larger shrimp,

but they are not bulk-fed like the Laitram peelers, hence still somewhat

labor intensive and operationally restrictive on shrimp size.

the world now needs something better, some innovation in this field...

same as some innovation is now desired on refrigeration.

At 400/600 shrimp per pound maybe look at aquaculture. Sound like you got a lot of seed stock. Just put some meat on them. Then those big machines will work.

for your information there are more than commercially prized shrimp

found in the Indian ocean and the Arabian sea. The smaller size, viz

400/600 is not juvenile shrimp but a fully grown up crustacean. Haven't you

heard of Krills??? How can you put some more flesh on those adults?

..no way

these size shrimp are sold as cooked and peeled and i remember one

US company SauSea foods selling it as ''shrimp cocktail''!! of course these

shrimp also have different uses in culinary regimen...a chef could tell best.

Krill may look shrimp like but are not shrimp. Eat a lot of seafood around my neck of the woods never have I seen krill sold.

Do not you see stuff like this?

link

Yeah, it is this shrimp but of warm-water Penaeid species which unlike

the Pandalus have legs and a bit harder skin to be removed. This type of

shrimp do not grow beyond their small size....nor need be deveined.

They are really delicious and go for making the gourmet's choice!

NB: yet another problem with peeled shrimp is to remove the admixture and

extraneous material that gets mixed with the shrimp meat, any idea how to do

it automatically on large scale, say 100 tons per day????:)

No more like this.

No, that is headless shrimp, brown and Second grade!! too many black

spots and black tails!! Not good:)

These better?

Yeah, krill is not shrimp but a favorite food of whales!!

Krill are very minute, just a few millimeters and I have seen them

sold on a supermarket shelf somewhere in Europe.

Cooked and Peeled shrimp are commonly sold. Mind it there is difference

of species between cold water shrimp and warm water shrimp, the multi-legged decapod peneieds.

Commercially farmed krill from vast aquaculture operations never make it to the seafood markets.

They are all diverted to baleen whale feed lots for sustainable fuel oil production.

That's why you never see krill being sold.

Think about that the next time you light your lantern.

OMG humans snatching away food from whale's mouth!!

No krills will starve the whales and kill them all!

Why not find some better way to light the lantern rather than ruin

the environment??

Looking for a machine to boost production of hand peeled shrimp?

Anyone else see a problem with that sentance?

Aside from not even wanting to hand feed the machine? What problem?

the problem with 'that' is the same as it exists in

your following sentence!!;)

'''Anyone else see a problem with that sentance?''

How can you peel, say 100 tons, of small shrimp per day without

a bulk-fed machine???? No joke, I guess!

Sorry - just a small in-joke on "hand peeled" as pertaining to import description and truth in advertising. A lot of different people, professions and skill-sets around CR4

But yes, the peeling problem is tricky with these tiny shrimp (Chefs commonly use in Asian mixed rice dishes, soups, puree' and such).

I have thought a bit about the squeezing concept, but haven't commented as I suspect the variation in curl makes it quite complicated. Doesn't present itself as a de-veining solution either - on something about 15 -20 mm (1/2 - 3/4") long and varying in diameter. (assuming this is the product 'that' you are referring to)

But if I think of something actually 'useful', I will be sure to let you know

It's all right and thanks for your encouraging words.:)

Bulk-fed Machine peeling machines are made only by Laitram or Skrmetta

but in a developing country where technical hand or back-up service are not easily

available, it makes impossible to use their machines. Moreover, their machines

are basically meant for peeling previously cooked shrimp (although they claim

them to peel raw shrimp as well but this is not truly so from my experience). These companies usually lease out their machines in their countries or elsewhere.

Since long there has been no development in this field and I thought maybe

someone knew a better method to ''pull skin off the little monkeys!!'';)

Well, let's keep trying (like Robert Bruce!).....to reach a solution as there must

be some?

Ah yes the euphausiid, now I think we are on the same page....Here is a patent I found specifically for that purpose....

http://www.google.com/patents/US4393544?printsec=drawing#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thanks for the search. I think James M. Lapeyre is the same guy who

runs or ran Laitram? Back in 1983 or so I had some communication made

with him regarding a shrimp washing and cleaning machine but things didn't

go further because of my remoteness from his place.

Skimming through his patent, I think excess of gearing will make Lapeyre's

machine unworkable for being run with water all the time and getting corroded

or misaligned! His patent seems to be like a variation of mine (shrimp cleaning machine)which I

developed back in 1983 and sent him an orthographic picture of my patent for his perusal!!

I am still obsessed by the idea of devising a viable gadget for bulk

peeling of shrimp, less intricate and which does not

require heavy repair and maintenance but presently I don't have the

facility to do it!!

I was surprised to learn that machines to do this actually existed. Thanks for introducing this to me.

It seems that prawns are mostly hand prepped in most parts. Apparently, humans are well equipped with the basic hardware and firmware and just require a software tweak to get them working.

I often wish I had such a machine while preparing prawns for a meal over my kitchen sink.

Pakistan has very cheap labour right? Do you really want a complex machine in there?

Shrimp peeled by hand are regarded as the best shrimp because they

are completely peeled off without bruising or breaking them. However, manual

peeling tends to delay process and partially spoils the product which is acoording to FDA not passable as good for human consumption.

Machines do not match the subtle and nimble manoevering of human hands but are just to augment them for ease and productivity. then all machines cannot be

used independently or specifically to treat all the product phases. For example

all peeled shrimp have to be washed and cleaned off extraneous material such

as antennae , gristles, etc, which again required another machines.

Once I imported a shrimp Cleaning machine from Laitram but it was useless

so I went on experimenting and made my own and got the patent for it in 1983.

I told Laitram about this and others , they were partly interested

but unprepared to enter into an agreement. Clever businessmen they are!

Japanese were also interested but they wanted me to ship them a machine

which i refused as I am not a mass manufacturer.....same happens with people in

other places, such as India. All want to have the machine but are not

ready to take the patent!! You can easily imagine what they are upto??

Problem with machine peelers is that they are complicated and need

perfect alignment to perform which is not possible in a developing counrty

like Pakistan. Labor is surely cheaper in Pakistan but is least

dedicated or skilled, and cannot be trusted. Laws are weak over here

and no sooner you teach someone he will make a copy of your machine

and would be sitting in your competitor's lap!!

Training your competitors!!!!!

What a wonderful feeling!

Not exactly. It's a matter of confidence gained through long experience

and expertise in the field. Once I told a US shrimp machine maker that one of his

machines was worthless and he ought to improve the design

or stop making tall claims!

Similarly, many years ago marketing staff of a famous refrigeration company(Sabro)

visited my factory and after seeing the installation done by me remarked"

You do not need our services!!

Surely such recognitions give you happy feelings, don't they??

Later I was elected as Associate engineer by ASHRAE!!

Wooohooo!!

That's a little different to the scenario you painted in #25.

Nice to hear that your dedication to quality is being recognised and appreciated.

Do you conduct factory/facility tours?

A product which doesn't have consistent quality is not salable and soon

loses market.

During my business career I had the chance to inspect various seafood

processing units in the US and Japan. I observed that the Japanese are pretty smart

at handling fish.

No, I don't conduct factory/facility tours as here there are none!

Thanks for your interest..:)

I am way out of my field here, but ...

I have seen both compressed air and pressurized water used to everything from medicine injection to stone cutting.

Seems a combination of orientation (rubber wheels) and shaping of the blast should get under the shell and strip it off without damaging the shrimp.

De-veining I think could be done the same way.

Dear Sir,

I have been following your thread regarding the Shrimp Peeling Machine and am quite happy to learn that you have been able to procure a patent in the same regard.

Sir, I run a Small Scale industry bssed in Mumbai, India and we have been designing and manufacturing Shrimps/ Fish Processing Machineries. Our detailed profile would be available to you at www.rajmaengg.com or alternatively www.facebook.com/rajmaengg

Sir, I am interetesed to learn more about your know how on Peeling Technology, on an agreement basis and look forward to a honest association with you if everything falls in place.

I shall keenly Await your response on this subject at rajma_engg@hotmail.com

Best Regards,

Kamaal Vijayann