English 
Zhengfeng Road, Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province,China
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Product Description
The TINDO industrial meatball forming machine automatically shapes ground meat paste into perfectly round meatballs at 200-400 pieces per minute. Three models cover the full size range — from small fish balls (Φ16mm) to giant lion head meatballs (Φ80mm). Entirely built from SUS304 stainless steel, the machine uses a pull-out mold system that allows size changes in under 3 minutes without tools.
Unlike the MF-series forming machine which shapes flat products like burger patties and nuggets, the meatball former uses a rotary cutting-and-rounding mechanism that produces perfectly spherical balls with smooth surfaces — ready for boiling, steaming, or deep-frying directly after forming.
For flat product forming (burger patties, nuggets), see our Automatic Forming Machine.
Standard meatball machines require disassembling the forming head with wrenches to change ball size. The TINDO design uses a drawer-style pull-out mold mechanism — the operator pulls the mold cassette out, slides a different diameter mold in, and locks it. No tools, no recalibration. Production resumes in under 3 minutes.
Independent variable frequency drives control both the feeding screw and the cutting/rounding mechanism. This two-motor architecture means you can adjust the feed rate without changing the forming speed — critical for sticky pastes that need slower feeding, or high-moisture batters that need faster cutting to maintain roundness.
Every surface that contacts food — the hopper, feeding screw, forming head, and collection tray — is SUS304 stainless steel. The entire forming head assembly lifts off the frame for separate deep cleaning. The collection tray rolls away on casters for independent washdown.
All three models share the same control system, power architecture, and mold-mount interface. A facility running Lion Head machines can add a Sixi model and the operators already know how to run it — zero retraining.
Small Meatball Machine | Swing Head Meatball machine | Big Size Meat Ball Machine | |
|---|---|---|---|
Best for | Standard meatballs — chicken, fish, pork, beef | Same product range, different forming mechanism | Giant meatballs — lion head, pet food, catering |
Size range | Φ16-45 mm | Φ16-45 mm | Φ50-80 mm |
Pieces per minute | 260-400 | 260-400 | 200 |
Capacity | 150-180 kg/h | 150-180 kg/h | ≈400 kg/h |
Forming method | Rotary cutting and rounding | Oscillating head rounding | Large-diameter single former |
The difference between Lion Head and Swing Head is the forming mechanism — Lion Head uses a continuous rotary cutter, Swing Head uses an oscillating rounding head that produces a slightly smoother surface finish. For most applications, the results are indistinguishable. Choose Swing Head if surface smoothness is mission-critical (premium export products).
For giant meatballs (Φ50mm+), only the Sixi model works. These are the "lion head" meatballs used in Chinese banquet cuisine, large-format catering meatballs, and premium pet food meatballs.
Parameter | Small Meatball Machine | Swing Head Meatball machine | Big Size Meat Ball Machine |
|---|---|---|---|
Material | SUS304 | SUS304 | SUS304 |
Production Speed | 260-400 pcs/min | 260-400 pcs/min | 200 pcs/min |
Capacity | 150-180 kg/h | 150-180 kg/h | ≈400 kg/h |
Meatball Diameter | Φ16-45 mm (adjustable) | Φ16-45 mm (adjustable) | Φ50-80 mm (adjustable) |
Speed Control | Double frequency conversion | Double frequency conversion | Double frequency conversion |
Power | 1.5 kW | 1.6 kW | 1.5 kW |
Power Supply | 380V/50Hz | 380V/50Hz | 380V/50Hz |
Mold Change | Pull-out type | Pull-out type | Pull-out type |
Machine Weight | ≈135 kg | ≈165 kg | ≈165 kg |
Dimensions (LxWxH) | 860x550x1800 mm | 860x550x1800 mm | 950x550x1750 mm |
Product | Typical Size | Recommended Model | Common Market |
|---|---|---|---|
Chicken meatballs | Φ20-28 mm | Small meatball or Swing Head | Retail, food service |
Fish balls | Φ16-25 mm | Small meatball or Swing Head | Asian grocery, hot pot supply |
Shrimp balls | Φ20-30 mm | Small meatball or Swing Head | Premium seafood retail |
Beef meatballs | Φ25-40 mm | Small meatball or Swing Head | Food service, QSR |
Pork meatballs | Φ25-35 mm | Swing Head (smoother surface) | Export, premium retail |
Mutton meatballs | Φ25-40 mm | Small meatball or Swing Head | Middle East, halal market |
Vegetable balls | Φ20-30 mm | Small meatball | Vegetarian/vegan retail |
Lion head meatballs | Φ50-80 mm | Big Meatball | Chinese banquet, catering |
Pet food meatballs | Φ50-80 mm | Big meatball | Premium pet food manufacturing |
Stage | TINDO Equipment | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Before | Grinds raw meat to uniform particle size | |
Before | Blends ground meat with seasoning and brine | |
After | Meatball Boiling Line | Cooks formed meatballs in hot water — TINDO can supply as part of a turnkey line |
After | Individually quick-freezes cooked meatballs for retail packaging | |
After | Vacuum or thermoforming packaging for retail |
Q: What's the difference between the Lion Head and Swing Head models?
The Lion Head uses a rotary cutting mechanism — faster, simpler, lower cost. The Swing Head uses an oscillating rounding head that produces a slightly smoother ball surface. Choose Lion Head for standard production, Swing Head for premium export products where visual perfection matters.
Q: Can I make different sizes on the same machine?
Yes. Swap the pull-out mold cassette — available in diameters from 16mm to 45mm (80mm for Sixi). Mold change takes under 3 minutes.
Q: What meats can it process?
Chicken, fish, shrimp, pork, beef, mutton, and plant-based proteins. The double frequency conversion drive adapts to different paste viscosities.
Q: Does the machine come with molds included?
Standard delivery includes one mold set of your choice. Additional sizes are available as optional extras — we recommend ordering 2-3 sizes upfront to cover your product range.
Q: Is this machine the same as the nugget forming machine?
No. The MF-series forming machine shapes flat products (burger patties, nuggets). This meatball machine uses a different rotary-rounding mechanism for perfectly spherical balls. A factory making both nuggets and meatballs needs both machines.
Contact our sales team for a quotation with your target meatball size and daily output.
info@tindotech.com | WhatsApp: +86 185 6009 1508
