Optical Sorting Technology

Color Sorter Machines

A color sorter — also known as an optical sorting machine — detects defective kernels and foreign material with cameras and removes them from the line with air ejectors. From dried fruit to pulses, in a belt-type configuration — our DMAX model — matched to your product.

Air ejector block of a SAGE color sorter — precision air nozzles up close

How It Works

Thousands of Kernels per Second,
Inspected One by One

  1. Feed: Product is metered from the hopper onto the vibratory feeder in a steady, even flow.
  2. Flow: Kernels travel down the chute — or across the belt in a single layer — forming a thin product curtain.
  3. Scanning: High-resolution RGB cameras image every kernel under LED lighting.
  4. Decision: The processor makes the accept-or-reject call within milliseconds.
  5. Ejection: An air ejector fires a pinpoint burst to blow the defective kernel into the reject stream.
Feed Hopper Vibratory Feeder Chute High-Resolution RGB Camera LED Lighting Air Ejector Accepted Product Reject
As product flows down the chute in a thin curtain, every kernel is scanned in milliseconds; defective kernels are diverted into the reject bin by a precise burst of air during free fall.

Cameras and Software

Four Technologies That See Defects

High-Resolution RGB Cameras

High-resolution RGB cameras pick up the slightest color deviation, spots and blemishes under LED lighting.

Precision Air Ejectors

A pinpoint burst of air removes the defective kernel from the line without disturbing the good product flow.

Shape Sorting

Geometry analysis catches stems, stalks and broken kernels even when they match the product's color.

Deep-Learning Classification

Deep-learning models learn complex defect patterns that conventional thresholds miss.

High-resolution camera module and LED lighting inside the sorting chamber
CAMERA MODULE + LED LIGHTING — SORTING CHAMBER

What Does It Remove?

What the Eye Misses, the Camera Doesn't

  • Stones and soil
  • Glass and ceramic
  • Metal fragments
  • Shell and pit fragments
  • Stems, stalks and plant debris
  • Moldy and rotten kernels
  • Color-defective kernels
  • Dark, aflatoxin-suspect kernels

Line Solutions

From a Single Machine to a Complete Line

We plan elevators, feeding, sorting and inspection as one project — your machine never stands alone on the line.

Turnkey sorting line: elevators, feed hoppers, color sorter and packing line together
TURNKEY LINE INSTALLATION — SAMPLE LAYOUT
Sorting line made up of feeding, sorting and analysis conveyor stages
FEED + SORT + INSPECT — IN-LINE ANALYSIS

Ask the Right Questions

Don't Look at "Accuracy Percentage" Alone

Carryover

Carryover — good product lost to the reject stream — affects your operating profit as much as accuracy does. Always ask for the good-to-defect ratio of the reject stream in the quotation — we share ours openly.

Air Consumption

The ejectors' air consumption means compressor investment and electricity bills. Ask for the L/min figure and the required pressure along with the quotation.

The Service Reality

The machine comes from China; the service comes from Manisa. Ask whether critical parts such as ejector valves, cameras and LED modules are stocked in Turkey.

Get a Quote for Your Product

Tell us about your product, your capacity and your defect profile; we'll pin down the right model and configuration together.

or email: info@sagemakine.com

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