Product category:
Optical sensors and vision systems
News Release from: Key Technology | Subject: Optyx 3000 Sorter
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 November 2007
Walker Cranberry installs optical
sorters
Even though Walker only run the new Raptor Laser Sorter eight weeks a year, the reduction in labour needed for QA sorting on the cranberries has earned a payback of three and a half years
Walker Cranberry is a family-owned grower and processor of fresh cranberries with 72 acres under cultivation in Wisconsin Going to market under the Ocean Spray brand, Walker takes great care to assure the high quality and safety of its product
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 20 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Walker has installed the Key Technology Optyx 3000 Series Sorter with Raptor Laser Technology to maximise the removal of defects and foreign material while reducing labour costs.
"Over the past few years, it's gotten harder to find steady workers.
With automation, that's one less thing we need to worry about," noted Tyler Walker, a sixth generation cranberry grower and Walker Cranberry board member.
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"Optyx with Raptor improves the consistency of our product quality without using so much manpower.
Also, we're able to run through more fruit in any given day".
"Prior to installing Optyx with Raptor, we relied on 24 hand sorters to pick out green cranberries and those with blemishes," noted Ryan Walker, president of Walker Cranberry: "With Raptor, we're removing more defects and we only have two hand sorters.
Even though we only run Raptor eight weeks a year, the reduction in labour has earned us a payback of three and a half years".
Optyx with Raptor uses a combination of colour cameras and laser technology to inspect the fruit and automatically remove defects and foreign material based on colour, size, shape, and the berry optical properties.
With the highest spatial resolution laser scanner in food sorting, Raptor detects the smallest defects and foreign material.
Depending on the needs of the application, Optyx with Raptor can be configured for either single-side or top-and-bottom scanning.
It can be equipped with multiple cameras and sensors, including colour, UV (ultraviolet), Vis/IR (visible infrared), and monochromatic cameras as well as Raptor Laser Technology and the newest Key FluoRaptor fluorescence-sensing laser technology.
The Walker sorter features cameras inspecting both UV response and visible colour reflectance while the Raptor laser inspects the object material properties.
"The most important measure of success is product quality.
Since we installed Optyx with Raptor, we've not had a single customer complaint," noted Ryan Walker "Another important measure of success is production efficiency.
In the past, if we had a problem with a run, we had to slow down the flow so our hand sorters could keep up.
With the Key sorter, we can keep the flow consistent regardless of the quality of the incoming product.
Now we can run the bagging machines at maximum output".
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