| Potatoes
The Caretaker’s latest optical
sorting option proves top-grade
Since Tong Engineering launched the option of integrated optical sorting within its market leading grading machine,
the Caretaker, back in 2016, the inclusion of advanced optical sorting on dirty grading systems has proved to be a very
welcome addition.
ntroduced to offer
potato and
vegetable growers
and processors
automated optical
sorting of dirty
crop, Tong has been offering the
option within its Caretaker mobile
grader and static grading lines, as
an alternative to traditional manual
inspection facilities. The optical
sorter for dirty crop can also be
specified as a stand-alone unit or
within a complete intake grading
line, to replace manual removal of
stones and clod from crop.
And now, after almost two years
in daily action sorting up to 40
tons of potatoes per hour, the
optical sorter has proved itself to
be invaluable. “One of our most
recent Caretaker installations that
features the optical sorting system,
is for a large potato grower and
processor in France, where the
integrated optical sorter is working
very well on dirty crop,” explains
I
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk
Charlie Rich, Export Sales
Manager at Tong Engineering.
“The addition of the optical sorter,
which is built upon the Caretaker’s
heavy duty chassis, has meant
that they are now achieving very
consistent and reliable removal of
debris from crop without any
manual inspection, and at high
capacities.”
When specified as an option on
the Tong Caretaker grader, the
optical sorting unit is fitted in place
of a standard inspection table,
working very accurately on
unwashed crop, separating foreign
material from crop. Using the latest
camera technology, the optical
sorter scans all items whilst in-
flight to identify and separate crop
from clod, stones and foreign
objects including wood, plastic,
glass, bone, rubber, metal and
more. The machine offers effective
separation for a wide range of
potato varieties, including main,
seed and processing crop.
“Growers and packers are
continuously looking to increase
the efficiency and productivity of
their handling systems, with a
definite focus across the industry
on labour and its associated
costs,” says Charlie. “Whilst we
are offering carrot and potato
processors advanced optical
sorting of washed crop with the
increasingly popular Visar optical
sorter, the removal of stones and
clod from dirty crop still remains a
somewhat manual process for
most. This new optical sorting
option now offers growers and
fresh pack companies a fully
automated system for consistent
removal of stones and clod from
unprocessed crop, which
essentially removes the need for
inspection staff at this stage in the
process.”
“The new optical system,
coupled with our latest Pro-Series
Auto-Touch HMI control system, is
bringing next generation
automation to the intake crop
handling process, for increased
productivity and consistency whilst
significantly reducing labour
requirements,” added Charlie.
April 2018 | Farming Monthly | 21