Key Technology Showcases Next-Generation VERYX(TM) Digital Sorters at INC World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress
Key Technology is showcasing its next-generation VERYX™ digital sorters at INC World Nut  Dried Fruit Congress. With highly innovative industry-first advancements such as multi-sensor Pixel Fusion™ and the highest resolution 4-channel cameras and laser sensors available on a digital sorter, VERYX reliably identifies sub-millimeter-size FM and defects. It offers an unprecedented ability to discriminate between good product, shell, paper shell, mold, membrane, small pieces, ‘butter balls’ and insect webbing and damage, even when defects are small or the same color, size and shape of good product.
VERYX identifies and removes more foreign material (FM) and defects to maximize product quality, enabling nut and dried fruit processors to improve product quality and increase yields while enhancing production efficiencies and reducing the need for skilled labor. Advanced auto-learn, self-adjusting capabilities and recipe-driven operation offer extreme ease-of-use and an intuitive user experience.
At the same time VERYX increases FM and defect removal to improve product quality, it virtually eliminates false rejects to increase yields. This is accomplished with a new precision ejection system, software-driven intelligent ejection algorithms and product handling systems that better stabilize nuts and dried fruit to create a more consistent trajectory through the inspection and ejection zones.
“VERYX combines a highly innovative new mechanical architecture with intelligent decision making to maintain optimal performance through the entire production cycle. It minimizes the need for operator interaction and establishes new standards of performance to offer exceptional customer value,” said Louis Vintro, Senior Vice President New Products Business Development. “VERYX complements our existing digital sorting systems, allowing us to choose the optimal solution for our customers’ specific needs.”
Every VERYX sorter is configured around the product characteristics, application requirements and process objectives of each customer. The family includes belt-fed sorters as well as chute sorters fed by Key’s patented Chycane® chute system. Available in widths ranging from 700mm to 2100mm, VERYX satisfies small to very large production capacity requirements.
Key introduces its unique new multi-sensor Pixel Fusion™ sorting technique on VERYX. This industry first advancement merges data streams from multiple cameras and laser sensors in relation to each image pixel to increase the contrast between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ (as defined by the user), which enables the sorter to recognize more subtle defects and difficult-to-detect FM.
Next-generation cameras and laser sensors offer twice the resolution capability of previous generation sorters to detect and remove the smallest defects and FM. With up to 4 channels of information from cameras and up to 8 channels of information from the laser scanner, combined with advanced LED lighting that operates at optimal frequencies in relation to each sensor, Key customizes every VERYX sorter to perfectly match the customer’s requirements, from basic to the most complex.
VERYX’s modular design enables food processors to easily upgrade their sorter in the field with the addition of more or different cameras, lasers or BioPrint™ hyperspectral sensor technology, as customer requirements evolve over time.
Leveraging richer product information and Key’s powerful new data processing architecture and intelligent software, VERYX can make new and more robust sorting decisions while easing use. Smart features such as auto-learning, self-adjustment algorithms, predictive system diagnostics, smart alarms, FMAlert™ and Sort-to-Grade™ will enable VERYX to operate virtually unattended during normal production. Operator qualification requirements are reduced, making it much faster and easier for a new operator to become a proficient user of the equipment compared to other sorters.
To further ease use, VERYX introduces an intuitive new user interface (UI) that can provide different views to users of various levels, depending on their needs. Recipe-driven operation ensures customers can count on consistent performance from their VERYX sorter day in, day out, including running the same product across multiple sorters in different lines or locations. The streamlined UI enables the sorter to run a different product or grade at the touch of a button.
VERYX features Key’s Information Analytics, a set of data acquisition and connectivity capabilities that allow users to gather a broad range of product and operational data from the sorter. The data can be made available for off-line analysis or connected to a customer’s SCADA or Manufacturing Execution System.
VERYX sorters leverage Key’s specialized material handling solutions to optimally convey and control each object through the sort process. This ensures ultimate accuracy in sorting out every piece of FM and defective product, avoiding the inadvertent removal of good product in the process.
For more information on Key’s VERYX, visit www.theKeyStandard.com.
About Key Technology, Inc.
Key Technology (NASDAQ: KTEC) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of process automation systems including digital sorters, conveyors, and processing equipment. Applying processing knowledge and application expertise, Key helps customers in the food processing and other industries improve quality, increase yield, and reduce cost. An ISO-9001 certified company, Key manufactures its products at its headquarters in Walla Walla, Washington, USA; Beusichem, the Netherlands; Hasselt, Belgium; and Redmond, Oregon, USA. Key offers customer demonstration and testing services at five locations including Walla Walla, Beusichem, and Hasselt as well as Sacramento, California, USA and Melbourne, Australia; and maintains a sales and service office in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico.
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