The TOMRA 3A is better than its predecessor in all aspects: greater capacity, detection of green potatoes, easier to use and with even easier maintenance
TOMRA Food has sorting machinery based on TOMRA 3A sensors for recently harvested root vegetables, offering potato producers many possibilities for unparalleled sorting, reliability and profitability. The TOMRA 3A replaces the FPS machinery (“Field Potato Sorter”) with which the TOMRA entered this specialised sector for the first time seven years ago and it has been developed thanks to the contributions by clients and the experience accumulated over this time.
The sorting machinery is usually used at the entrance to the warehouse, where it offers a final cleaning just before the recently collected harvest passes through the mechanical grading machine and the soil removal equipment. The machinery uses an inspection and flying ejection process to detect and remove stones, soil and other remains from the product that is entering. The TOMRA 3A is designed to operate at high capacity, in order to be able to take on the rush of the short harvesting seasons and to move the produce carefully without the risk of producing damage or knocks.
Sophisticated imaging technology and more automated functions
As opposed to how the FPS worked, the TOMRA 3A’s sophisticated imaging system can detect colour, which allows it to detect undesirable green potatoes. The pulsed LED solid state lighting technology, with high resolution cameras can distinguish the organic material (the harvest) from the inorganic material (foreign bodies). Among the range of multiple personalised LED signal frequency responses (some visible and others invisible, such as infrared), the advanced analysis software detects the presence of green areas on the potatoes that have been exposed to the sun. The sorter tolerates the superior lighting effects and removes the sensitivity to changes in the light level that occurs in productions that are extended through the day, evening and nighttime.
