A color sorting machine, often referred to as a color sorter or color sorting equipment, is an automated device used in various industries, including agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing, to sort objects or materials based on their color and other optical properties. These machines are designed to efficiently and accurately segregate items into different categories or remove defective or unwanted items from a product stream.
The key components and working principles of a color sorting machine typically include:
Feeding System: The input material, which can be grains, seeds, food products, minerals, or other objects, is fed into the machine. The feeding system ensures a consistent and even flow of items for sorting.
Illumination: The objects to be sorted pass under a strong light source. The uniform lighting is crucial to ensure that the color and optical properties of each object are clearly visible.
Sensors and Cameras: High-speed cameras or optical sensors capture images of the objects as they pass through the illuminated area. These sensors detect the colors and other optical characteristics of each object.
Image Processing: The images captured by the cameras are processed by advanced image processing software. This software analyzes the colors and optical properties of the objects and makes rapid decisions based on predefined sorting criteria.
Sorting Mechanism: The sorting decision is communicated to a mechanism that physically separates the objects into different categories. The most common method is the use of air ejectors or mechanical chutes. Air ejectors release bursts of air to deflect items into the appropriate category. Mechanical chutes use physical barriers to guide items to the correct location.
Multiple Sorting Categories: Depending on the machine’s design and purpose, it can sort items into multiple categories or simply segregate them into “accepted” and “rejected” streams.
Rejected Material Collection: Items that do not meet the specified criteria are typically ejected into a separate container or channel for rejected material.
Accepted Material Collection: The sorted items that meet the criteria are collected in another container for further processing or packaging.
Techik color sorting machines are highly customizable and can be configured to sort based on various characteristics beyond color, such as size, shape, and defects. They are widely used in applications where quality control, consistency, and precision are critical, including the sorting of grains and seeds, fruits and vegetables, coffee beans, plastics, minerals, and more. Aiming to meet different raw materials, Techik has designed belt color sorter, chute color sorter, intelligent color sorter, slow speed color sorter, and etc. The automation and speed of these machines greatly enhance the efficiency of industrial processes, reducing the reliance on manual labor and improving the quality of the final product.