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Key Technology introduces Manta® for frozen potato
products. Featuring Vis/IR (visible infrared) cameras and Raptor laser
technology along with new, proprietary high intensity LED lighting, high flow
ejector valves, and three-way ejection capability, this large capacity sorter,
located immediately prior to packaging, assures final product is free of foreign
material (FM) and objectionable process-generated material. With this new
application, potato processors can now automate inspection of frozen product at
the end of the production line to improve food safety and product quality while
reducing labor costs.
Historically, potato processors have relied on
automated sorters to remove foreign material and defects from wet product
after the cutter, upstream of the fryer and freezer. While these sorters are
highly effective in helping to make grade, they leave a processor vulnerable
to quality problems that may arise downstream. Potato processors have
traditionally relied on costly, inconsistent, and unsanitary hand sorting to
inspect frozen product at the end of the production line. Now, with Manta
for frozen potato strips, processors can automate this end-of-line
inspection.
 Locating
Manta at the end of the potato processing line helps assure the safety and
quality of final product while simultaneously achieving additional benefits
associated with improved process control and length control.
Connecting Manta with a plant-wide network and using
the data collected to control the sorter as well as upstream processes
extends the value of the sorter by increasing yields, cutting costs, and
controlling quality in ways that have, until recently, been unattainable. By
monitoring product size, shape, and color, Manta can tally specific product
characteristics and trigger an alarm or process adjustment if
out-of-tolerance conditions are detected or anticipated.
Adding Key’s new optional three-way sorting capability
to Manta allows processors to produce a higher quality product without
losing valuable product to the waste stream or requiring additional sorting
for rework product. With three-way sorting, processors can send foreign
material and critical defects to the first reject stream and convey this to
waste without re-sorting or losing valuable yield. The second reject stream
can receive short pieces and non-critical defects that can be reworked and
recovered while the pass stream accepts only good product that matches
production specifications.
Unlike mechanical shakers and screen traditionally
used for size grading, using Manta with three-way sorting at the end of the
line to control length allows processors to easily set and change the
acceptable length threshold in seconds.
Featuring a two-meter wide scan area, Manta handles up
to 23 metric tons (50,700 pounds) of frozen potato strips per hour, based on
7 mm wide cuts. Manta is ideal for sorting all types of potato products on
frozen and refrigerated processing lines including: strips, steak cuts,
wedges, spirals, waffle cuts, and small whole potatoes.
Using proprietary trichromatic Vis/IR cameras, Manta
recognizes each object’s size and shape as well as millions of subtle color
differences. The infrared sensors differentiate between potato peel and
brown defects such as bruises and rot, which allows the sorter to detect and
remove a wide range of defects on both peeled and peel-on potato products.
Integrating Key’s Raptor laser technology allows Manta to inspect objects’
structural properties, which maximizes the detection and removal of foreign
material. In addition to defects and foreign material, Manta, when located
at the end of the production line, removes problematic process-generated
material such as burn strips and starch blocks to maximize the quality of
final product.
Based on Key’s powerful G6 electro-optical platform,
Manta offers the most advanced image processing in the industry with
object-oriented logic and decision-making that combines data from multiple
sensors. Featuring a modular design and proven, high-performance
connectivity standards such as Camera Link™, FireWire®, and Ethernet, Manta
ensures forward compatibility to maximize a food processor’s long-term
return on investment.
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Reader Inquiries:
Anita Funk, Corporate Communications Manager
Key Technology, Inc.
150 Avery Street
Walla Walla, WA 99362 USA
Tel: 509 529 2161
Fax: 509 527 1331
Email: afunk@key.net
URL: www.key.net
Editor Inquiries:
Sandra McBride
Kinetic Communication
5 Arastradero Road
Menlo Park, CA 94028 USA
Tel: 650 926 9852
Fax: 650 926 9853
Email:
info@kineticcommunication.com
URL:
www.kineticcommunication.com
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