Product sorting specialist Tomra has developed Falcon, a cost-effective pre-sorting machine for the baby leaf lettuce and spinach industry.
The new machine is capable of detecting and removing gross defects at the earliest stage immediately after harvesting, which helps sorters and other equipments to enhance their efficiency.
It has been designed to detect the slightest differences in the produce's structure or chlorophyll level by using high resolution cameras and LED lighting as well as a range of contaminants including droppings, rodents, bugs, plastic, wood, soil clumps and stones, creating a much more uniform product for further processing.
The Falcon is equipped with a special infeed shaker which helps in spreading the produce evenly on a high speed acceleration infeed belt to guide the leaves to the inspection zone.
An in-flight inspection of the produce ensures thorough and high precision analysis, unaffected by a potentially dirty belt.
Owing to its highly-accurate system, foreign materials, including heavy items, are removed by high speed ejection fingers to the rejection zone while the good produce continues its flow.
The machine has been specifically developed with an open design for the baby leaf and spinach industry which makes machine cleaning, sanitation and maintenance easier.
The Packaging Europe quoted Tomra Sorting Solutions product manager Roel Molenaers as saying: "The Falcon answers an important requirement in the baby leaf salad and spinach market.
"It combines high capacity, ease of use and low maintenance to offer low cost of ownership while helping producers maximise product quality and production efficiencies."
