Belt-Fed Digital Sorters IntroducedBelt-Fed Digital Sorters Introduced
August 12, 2016

Key Technology introduces its Veryx belt-fed digital sorters. With an innovative mechanical architecture, sustainable all-sided surface inspection, multi-sensor Pixel Fusion, high-resolution cameras and laser sensors available on a digital sorter, and ease-of-use, Veryx maximizes foreign material (FM) and defect detection and removal while virtually eliminating false rejects. Veryx improves product quality, increases yields, and reduces the need for labor.
“We launched our Veryx family of digital sorters last year with the C140 chute-fed system, which is achieving great results in production environments. Now, after extensive in-field testing, we’re introducing the first belt-fed Veryx – the B175 model – to begin shipping in November 2016,” said Marco Azzaretti, advanced inspection systems product manager at Key. “Our next-generation Veryx sorters achieve more accurate discrimination: they detect additional kinds of defects and smaller defects at the same time they sacrifice almost no good product to the reject stream. More intelligent automated decision-making minimizes the need for operator interaction and helps maintain optimal sorting performance.”
To address a wide variety of food products and production capacities, the Veryx family will grow to include chute-fed sorter configurations in two widths and belt-fed sorters in four widths. With a highly customizable modular design, Key tailors each system specifically around the product characteristics and production objectives of each processor with the ideal sensors, sensor positions, lighting, separation/ejection system, product handling, software, and more. The system can easily be upgraded in the field with more or different cameras, lasers, BioPrint hyperspectral sensors and other technologies, as customer requirements evolve over time.
The Veryx B175 features a 1750-mm wide inspection area suited for mid- to high-capacity operations. Ideal for potato processors sorting wet or frozen strips and specialty potato products, as well as food processors sorting vegetables, fruits, or other products, the B175 can be configured to achieve two- or three-way sorting, as needed.
For food processors requiring all-sided surface inspection, Key can arrange the sensors to achieve full view of each object in the product stream with no blind spots. On belt-fed systems, the Veryx bottom cameras are positioned away from product splatter to ensure lower sensor windows are not obstructed by buildup over time. Eliminating this previously common performance degradation keeps bottom cameras operating at peak performance and makes Veryx the first sorter to deliver 100 percent surface inspection that is sustained throughout the production cycle.
The multi-sensor Pixel Fusion is an advanced feature that merges data streams from multiple cameras and lasers in relation to each image pixel. Fusing sensor data at pixel level maximizes the contrast between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (as defined by the user), which enables the sorter to recognize and remove more subtle product defects and previously difficult-to-detect FM.
Next-generation cameras and laser sensors offer twice the resolution capability of previous generation sorters to detect and remove sub-millimeter size defects and FM. With up to four channels of information from cameras and up to eight channels of information from the laser scanner, combined with advanced LED lighting that operates at the optimal frequencies in relation to each sensor, Key customizes every VERYX sorter to perfectly match each customer’s sort requirements, from basic to complex.
Key Technology Inc., Walla Walla, WA 509-529-2161 www.key.net
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