Walla Walla, Washington, USA
November 30, 2010
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Key Technology introduces Veo™, a very compact and affordable new type of sorter designed specifically for seed corn ears. Located downstream of the husker, Veo inspects up to 2400 ears of corn per minute and automatically removes ears with remaining husk. Veo eliminates manual sorting to address the challenges of low labor availability and high labor costs.
Historically, these manufacturers have relied on laborers to inspect ears after the automated husking operation to remove ears with significant husk remaining since this husk can inhibit the downstream drying process, compromising seed viability. A 16-lane husker typically requires eight laborers. With Veo, most of these workers can be redirected elsewhere. Based on typical labor rates and single shift operation, customers can achieve payback in only two seasons due to the system’s ease of implementation and low total cost of ownership.
Featuring new camera technology and LED lighting, Key designed Veo for easy installation into existing seed corn production lines with minimal construction required. Key has leveraged its expertise in material handling and deep knowledge of opto-electronics into a complete system to deliver this solution to the seed corn market. Veo receives ears that are randomly discharged from the husker, collects, redistributes, and aligns the ears into a uniform flow that has the orientation and lateral spacing needed for automated inspection.
The sorter’s vision module achieves color imaging with an LED light source and innovative cameras. The sorter quickly analyses the images, comparing each ear to previously defined accept/reject standards. With Key’s proprietary image processing technology, the system detects husk even when it is the same color as the corn, and can therefore inspect white corn on white cob. If the remaining husk is greater than the amount predefined by the customer, the system activates a deflector, which removes undesirable ears.
“Listening to seed corn processors during the development of Veo, we understood the importance of having a low cost, high performing sorter that required minimal disruption to install on existing production lines,” noted Bret Larreau, Optical Product Manager at Key Technology. “We field-tested Veo during the 2010 season with great results. We achieved exceptionally high defect removal rates with minimal false rejects while running at full production. Our beta customer was very happy with this performance.”
Veo features a color touchscreen control panel and graphical user interface (GUI) that is easy to learn and use. The GUI can be located on the sorter or nearby on a wall or panel. Sophisticated real-time and on-demand diagnostics minimize costly downtime, and detect conditions that could compromise inspection.
For more information on Key’s Veo, visit http://www.key.net/products/veo-sorter/default.html.
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Key Technology, an ISO-9001 certified company, is a leading designer and manufacturer of process automation systems, integrated electro-optical inspection and sorting systems, and processing systems. Key® systems help processors to improve quality, increase yield, and reduce cost. With worldwide sales representation, the company maintains demonstration and testing facilities at its headquarters and manufacturing divisions in Walla Walla, Washington, USA, and at Key Technology BV in Beusichem, the Netherlands. The company's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol: KTEC.
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