The Role of Observation–Measurement Methods in the Surface Characterization of X39Cr13 Stainless-Steel Cutting Blades Used in the Fish Processing Industry

Abstract

In the modern fish processing industry, flat fishes play an important role. They are processed into a final product in the form of a fillet during the skinning operation, which is carried out on machines operating in automated production lines. These machines are usually equipped with a single planar cutting blade or a few of such blades. The high-efficiency skinning and industrial conditions cause rapid wear of the cutting edge of the blade, which is detrimental to the quality of the final product. One of the forms of renewing the cutting ability of these types of tools is the regeneration carried out with the use of precise traverse surface grinding. The results of this process must be carefully verified for determining its correctness and possible optimization of its parameters. The main goal of this article was to characterize the usefulness of a number of observational and measuring methods to evaluate the results of the technical blade regeneration process. In this work, a number of contemporary observation–measurement methods such as optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), optical profilometry (OP), and angle-resolved scattering (ARS), supported by image processing and analysis techniques, were analyzed. The authors focused on presenting the role of the abovementioned methods in the surface characterization of planar cutting blades made of X39Cr13 chromium martensitic stainless steel before and after the technological operation of flat-fish skinning. Additionally, the surface condition after the regeneration process carried out using the five-axis CNC (computerized numerical control) grinding machine was also assessed. Numerous results of surface observations, elemental composition microanalysis, high-accuracy surface microgeometry measurements, and quantitative and qualitative analysis confirming the possibility of using the proposed methods in the presented applications are presented.

Cutting Techniques in the Fish Industry: A Critical Review

“…The blades were produced from different types of carbon and alloy tool steels and high-grade stainless steel. For some important components, cryogenically hardened stainless steel with a polished surface could be utilized [ 82 ]. Handling fish products is crucial as these foods are susceptible to numerous degradation factors.…”

“…The design and development of waterjet cutting equipment for fish cutting aim to gain faster and cheaper processing, accurate workpieces identification, and automatic cutting strategy generation and operation. The performance of meat cutting can be evaluated in different grades with the fish fillet recovery rate, the damage of fish bones, the amount of saw mince, the cleanness of skin cut, the cleanness of muscle cut, and the cut-through of connective tissue [ 27 , 82 , 103 ]. To achieve the best cutting performance, the components of waterjet cutting should be well-designed.…”

Methodology for Evaluating the Cutting Force of Planar Technical Blades Used in Flatfish Processing

“…Figure 1 shows the skinning process of flat fishes from the Pleuronectidae family as well as the automatic skinning machine ST600 (Steen F.P.M. International, Kalmthout, Belgium) [3][4][5]. Manufacturing plants strive to optimize the production process, which is understood as the desire to increase production efficiency and reduce costs while maintaining the desired product quality.…”