Key Technology has put a new tool in the hands of potato processors with the introduction of a new potato strips Sort-to-Grade feature for belt-driven G6 optical sorter brands Manta, Optyx and Tegra.
The Sort-to-Grade feature radically changes how processors can sort product defects, the company said, and by doing so can increase yields by one to three per cent.
The operator has historically had to adjust the sorter’s accept/reject thresholds subjectively due to fluctuations in the quality of incoming product. This traditional approach to sorting can result in too many minor and moderate defects being rejected, creating a significant yield loss.
Sort-to-Grade allows the sorter to control the quality of its output to a defined grade, objectively sorting by count in real-time with 100 per cent inspection. It increases yield by reducing unnecessary rejects while improving the consistency of final product quality and dramatically simplifying the operator’s experience.
“Sort-to-Grade is like ‘cruise control’ on a car,” Marco Azzaretti, advanced inspection systems product manager at Key Technology, said. “It automates the adjustments needed to maintain a consistent outcome despite the constant fluctuations of input.
“Even for a dedicated operator, in some situations it can be nearly impossible to perfectly optimise grade and yield given the volume of dynamic data to be considered.”
