Impressive sorting capabilities
TOMRA’s sorting technologies can inspect
materials flowing down a confectionery production
line according to their color, shape, and product
characteristics. Four sorters are particularly well suited
to confectionery applications: the Genius and
its successor, the TOMRA 5B, both belt machines, and the Blizzard and Nimbus free-fall
machines. Belt machines are generally
most suitable for distinguishing the
shapes of objects on the line and for
hard candies that might be too fragile
to land from a free-fall. Free-fall
machines, which scan and separate
objects in flight, are better suited to
looking for discolorations. Both types
of machines can be located on the line
before or after the product is oiled,
depending on the factory layout. Even
though oiling can make the product
sticky and sorting trickier, TOMRA’s
machines nevertheless perform with
unrivaled effectiveness at this point
in the production process.
The machine best suited to
smaller confectionery production
facilities, because of its entry-level
price and small footprint, is
the Blizzard. This free-fall sorter
does its detection work with
pulsed LEDs and a combination
of cameras, with a lighting system
that needs very little calibration or
maintenance. The LED’s different
wavelengths detect foreign
material, misshapen products, and
discolored products.
The Nimbus free-fall machine stands
out for its capability to sort different
products - such as sugar-free, with sugar, and multivitamin sweets - with
a variety of programs and applications
on the same platform. This machine
inspects products with specific laser
technologies and combinations,
and sorts according to color, surface
structure, and outline, with the ability
to detect starch, foreign materials,
and cross-contamination. The Nimbus
is in demand in European markets,
where factories produce a variety
of confectioneries and need to
guarantee their customers a product
free of cross-contamination.
