USA-based Key Technology, a member of the Duravant group of companies, has introduced the first VERYX® BioPrint® digital sorter. As the world’s only sorter that can combine near infrared (NIR) hyperspectral detection with colour cameras, VERYX BioPrint is capable of analysing a wider range of data about the materials it is sorting to improve detection performance and maximise process yield. Key’s VERYX BioPrint C140 sorter for nuts removes shells, foreign material (FM) and product defects as well as shape sorts and colour grades to maximise product quality while virtually eliminating false rejects.

Sorting walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews and other nuts, VERYX BioPrint removes shells, stones, sticks, glass, plastics, moisture-related defects, insect and other surface damage, rot, mould, etc. while colour grading and shape sorting to meet even the most stringent product quality specifications.  

VERYX BioPrint C140 can be equipped with front- and rear-mounted hyperspectral imaging sensors for all-sided inspection of each object in the product stream. It can be configured with  colour cameras and Key’s new Bio Fusion® detection technology, which fuses information from both sensor types to identify and remove a wide range of foreign materials and defects from the product stream.

Hyperspectral imaging is said to utilise many more wavelengths of information than other NIR inspection systems to detect the chemometric and biological properties of objects. Multi-channel, high-resolution cameras facilitate precise colour grading and shape sorting. Bio Fusion combines pixel-level data from the hyperspectral sensors and cameras to produce a unique ‘signature’ associated with each material substance that passes through the sorter. This enables VERYX to identify and remove the most difficult-to-detect FM and defects, without the yield loss generated by inadvertently directing good product to the reject stream, even when defect loads are very high.

The accuracy of the BioPrint detection system is complemented by VERYX’s high-resolution ejection system, which features minimal spacing between air nozzles to better target objects identified for removal without inadvertently sorting out good product. Intelligent software manages the air nozzles’ actuation to suit the objects’ size, shape and weight. The combined precision of VERYX’s detection and ejection systems is claimed to result in the most complete removal of shell and FM with the highest good product yield.

Sorting up to 8t of product per hour, VERYX BioPrint C140 is as a versatile solution for sorting nuts from pre-selection to final grading. It works perfectly as a stand-alone sorter, either in line or batch-fed, and in a cascading line of multiple sorters, depending on the needs of the processor. www.key.net/products/veryx
 

Key Technology’s VERYX BioPrint hyperspectral sorter

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