Sorting Tobacco Success Story

Source from:  Belgian Electronic Sorting  07/13/2007

After a succesful field evaluation in partnership with a US-based tobacco processor BEST entered the tobacco equipment market with the introduction of its patented "free-fall laser technology" in 2003. The equipment based on its existing sorting technology was adjusted to meet tobacco-specific requirements and introduced during the TABEXPO-Show, held at Barcelona/Spain the same year. Following the launch, BEST had its first tobacco installation up and running in Indonesia for NTRM (nontobacco related material) sorting of 'Rajangan' or 'Precut'-tobacco. The confidence of this customer in BEST's sorting capabilities and solution(s) provided, resulted in multiple new orders of this innovative technology. Later this year, at the start of the new processing season, this customer will take another sorting line in operation, capable of sorting 6 ton/hours of this Rajangan-type of tobacco. The sorting solution provided will also include a sorter of the free-fall laser technology in its online recycling loop. BEST has been shaking and sorting tobacco for just four years making it, in industry terms, a mere whipper snapper but in the intervening period it has continuously expanded its expertise in the tobacco market and its different products. The free-fall laser technology applied in NTRM-sorting can differentiate threshed/lamina types of tobacco, such as Virginia, Burley and other (blended) types of tobacco.In addition the company recently announced that a major processor in Greece has decided to invest in this technology for the sorting of Oriental leaf tobaccos. BEST has been pleased its performance so far setting what it feels are new standards in sorting tobacco stems, cloves and clove-flowers (ingredient of Kretek cigarettes), even for cut-rag (RYO/MYO) and cigarette & cigar filler. BEST's feed shaker machines spread the product uniformly over a (patented) free-fall chute.The product falls down towards the inspection zone, at a speed of more than 3 metres per second. In the inspection zone different types of foreign materials - often similar in colour, but different in structure compared to the good product - are detected by the infrared lasers. Defects similar in structure, but different in colour,can be inspected by afl kinds of colour lasers (red, green,blue...). All products are scanned from either one or both sides, by as many as 8 lasers at the same time. While passing through the scan zone, the signals from the reflected lasers are evaluated. A few milliseconds later the defects are hit by timed,high-speed air guns and diverted from their natural trajectory. The unwanted material ends up in a reject chute. The good product continues untouched into the accept chute and on to the production line. The machine is capable of capacities of up to 8 ton/hour (depending on the product) with incredibly low false reject rates and high efficiencies are reached.Depending on application and customers' inspection requirements, these machines can be configured either with single-sided or dual-sided (front and rear) inspection.The equipment is also sized to meet specific capacities of all different tobacco products, three different widths are available: 640mm, 1,200mm and 1,600mm. Helius rises As the tobacco market is getting more and more under pressure to supply high quality products - especially in view of the rigorous international regulations – leading manufacturers are in the hunt for efficient, premium quality control equipment. The company believed its new HELIUS platform can help meet this demand. HELIUS combines high resolution laser technology with the latest developments in optical, electronic,mechanical and software design. During development the company went back to its comprehensive market research in optical sorting and drew on its ten-year development of new technologies. It has enhanced its optical boxes with an inventive overpressure system to create a protective environment for optics, lasers and electronics, to avoid any kind of contamination, especially in view of the specific harsh conditions within a tobacco processing facility. A wide choice of lasers such as diode, solid state or gas, can be applied. This technology can also feature up to 12 optical receivers for processing reflections from 8 different laser frequencies at the same time for optimal removal of any kind of foreign materials. Sorting criteria are not only based on the conventional colour differences. The light-scattering effect produced by the infra-red lasers, allows the surface texture of the product to be analysed, thus optimising the foreign product detection rate. At its heart HELIUS utilizes a digital signal processing technology and sorting software (algorithm), which BEST exclusively acquired. The HELIUS platform offers the highest possible efficiency in tobacco sorting technology today. The machines can be connected to the worldwide-web for service support from anywhere in the world.The easily adjustable ejector block features superior quality valves, which can be accessed, which the company claims, without difficulty. The mechanical positioning of all components is made to allow easy accessibility and as such requires low maintenance. The three widths, which have proven to meet the requirements of different tobacco sorting applications, will remain available for the HELIUS platform. In addition BEST has also expanded its lamina and oriental leaf sorting capacity by introducing a further innovation: a high-speed 'belt laser'-sorter for capacities up to 10 ton/hour. With the TOBACCOSCAN-5, BEST combined the most advanced in product handling equipment (horizontal product flow) with its latest HELIUS-sorting platform. The belt system ensures product separation and stabilisation. The new TOBACCOSCAN-5 features free-flight product inspection using BEST's nitrogen over-pressured top and bottom optical systems. BEST not only invests in technology. Ever since entering the tobacco market, it felt a fundamental need for expertise and commitment and have therefore decided to set up a dedicated team of professionals for Sales,Service and Engineering. BEST also cooperates with several industrial partners in the tobacco field to provide turnkey integration solutions and to accomplish what customers around the world require: a prompt and top-quality service at any time.