Potato quality determination line

A potato quality determination line developed by RMA Techniek for inspecting potatoes.

Crate Tipper

First of all, the crates with potatoes can be placed on the roller conveyor, then they are transported to the crate turner. In the crate turner, the crate is tipped empty on a conveyor belt. The empty crate is put back on the roller conveyor, after which the crate is transported to the filling station.

Soil Cleaner

The sample is unloaded from the crate turner into the elevating belt of the soil cleaner. The soil cleaner is equipped with an elevator belt and a roller bed.

The elevator belt discharges the sample onto the roller bed where the potatoes are turned by rollers. Due to the rotating movement, the loose soil that is still present in the sample will fall between the rollers on a discharge belt.

After 'turning' the potatoes, the head of the elevator belt is lifted slightly by means of pneumatic cylinders to make room for the rolling bed. The roller bed in turn is tilted by means of pneumatic cylinders to unload the sample onto the buffer belt of the reading table.

Conveyor belt

The sample is discharged from the soil cleaner onto the buffer belt of the reading belt. The reading belt is equipped with a buffer belt with slide, a funnel with box, and a 15” inch screen.

When the potatoes are unloaded on the reading belt, the inspector can turn the belt as far as he wants. Here the potatoes are assessed for external defects. The data can be entered on the screen. After that, the sample will be rotated in the weighing bin.

Elevator belt with weighing bunker

The sample is deposited into the weighing bunker via the reading belt. The weighing bunker is equipped with a weighing bin with two valves at the bottom and an elevator belt.

After the sample has been weighed, it will be transported to the photo unit via the conveyor belt.

Photo Unit

The sample enters the photo unit via a conveyor belt. The photo unit consists of a camera, a conveyor belt and a slide.

The entire sample is collected in the photo unit. If the entire sample is present in the photo unit, a photo will be taken of the sample. Then the slide will go up and the sample will be discharged towards the dosing unit.

Dosing Unit

The sample is unloaded from the photo unit onto the dosing belt. The dosing unit is equipped with a vibrating chute.

The belt of the photo unit discharges the potatoes on the vibrating chute in a dosed manner. The dosing unit consists of three tracks through which the potatoes are unloaded singly on the belt of the 3D camera.

3D camera

The sample is unloaded via the dosing unit onto the belt of the 3D camera. The 3D camera is equipped with a conveyor belt and a 3D camera in a closed hood.

The sample is transported under the 3D camera by means of the conveyor belt. The 3D camera can measure the length, width, and height of the potatoes without stopping the conveyor belt. This information is collected per sample and made available online. After the 3D camera, the sample is unloaded onto a conveyor belt.

Inspection Table

The sample is unloaded via an elevator belt onto the roller reading table. The roller reading table is equipped with a roller reading belt, speed control for the rollers, and a 15” inch screen.

The potatoes go from the elevator belt directly onto the roller reading belt. The speed of the rollers is adjustable. Because the rollers of the belt rotate, the potatoes will be transported over the roller reading table while rotating. In this way, the inspector can assess the potatoes for defects. The sample will be transported from the roller reading table to the filling station.

Filling Station

From the roller reading table, the sample will end up on the belt of the filling station.

The empty crates were transported over the roller conveyor to the filling station. The moment the empty crate is under the filling station, the belt will start to rotate and the sample will be turned into a crate. When the monster is in the crate, the crate is transported to the end of the roller track. There the crate can be taken from the roller conveyor.

The potato quality determination line consists of the following machines: