Technology

The Valencia centre has an ample area for demonstrations with a variety of machines. (Image source: TOMRA Food))

TOMRA Food has inaugurated a new centre dedicated to fresh fruit and processed food projects in Valencia, which will also act as the main HUB for Southern Europe and North Africa, and serve as a training, service and spare parts centre, extending TOMRA Food’s presence in the EMEA market

The company sees its relationship with its customers as a collaborative process where both look for the best solution for each project and work together on the design of new solutions. The Spanish fruit and vegetable and nut sector – which is key for the company – is highly concentrated in the eastern Levante region and surrounding area. That is why the new centre in Valencia, which is now fully operational, is an important step in strengthening this personal approach and fostering a close relationship and communication with the producers.

TOMRA Food’s expert team will manage the company’s European projects from their base in the Valencia centre. The site will be the hub for demonstrations of large and small fruit applications. It will also conduct occasional demonstrations for processed food, although Belgium will continue to be the centre of reference for these products. It will also deliver training for company staff and TOMRA Food customer operators. 

To reduce delivery times, the centre stores spare parts, while also serving as an after-sales service hub in the EMEA region. A local technical team of 15 people, headed by team leader Jorge García Cascales, provides excellent support to the almost 400 machines in fresh and processed food installations in Spain and Portugal, and also serves other countries in the region. 

The Valencia centre has an ample area for demonstrations with a variety of machines including the Demo SLS (Single Lane Sorter) featuring Spectrim C2IR and Inspectra 2 for citrus and large fruit applications (apples, stone fruits, tomatoes, kiwi, avocados, etc). Also, at the centre is a KATO + LUCAi 12-line sorter for blueberries, which uses Deep Learning technology with pre-trained models that teach computers how to process data and detect complex patterns in photos. A TOMRA 3A optical sorter for unwashed potatoes featuring the latest mechanical and vision advances is also available for demonstrations.

"These are sorters built on high-performance hardware with improved lighting and image quality, providing complete visibility of every piece of fruit, and infrared channels to detect complex defects such as radial cracks, bruises, rotten fruit, scars, and punctures," explained TOMRA Food's regional sales manager for Southern Europe, Alejandro Palacios. "We will also have a circulation of fresh food machines according to seasonal fruit and processed food sorters to support the various campaigns."

TOMRA’s technologies are in constant evolution, with innovations such as the 5.0 more intuitive and predictive software, or the Inspectra2 spectrometry system that reveals the internal condition of the fruit, coming on stream. . Moreover, the company will soon unveil the recently launched Spectrim X platform to the European markets, which reduces sorting errors and increases the yield of each batch of fruit.

For more information, visit: www.tomra.com 

By installing wear-resistant coatings, processing equipment will withstand abrasion from the coarse sugar cane. (Image source: Castolin Eutectic)

Castolin Eutectic’s technical lead, Raul Amor explains how excessive wear can be avoided to ensure that critical sugar processing machines will remain in service throughout the harvest

Sugar cane processors face the challenge that cane is extremely tough and can damage processing equipment. Components in harvesters, feed systems, knives and hammers in defibering units and crushers can all wear out quickly and even break down. But there is a solution: wearfacing coatings protect equipment from the damage caused by sugar cane. The benefits are that equipment will extract sugar more efficiently, last longer and need fewer repairs.

Sugar is big business and it is growing bigger. According to Fortune Business Insights, the worldwide sugar market is expected to grow to US$46.56bn by 2029, with operators in Asia Pacific having the biggest share of the market. Typically, mills process between 10,000 to 45,000 tons of sugar cane per day. They need heavy industrial machinery – and a lot of it – to do this. However, excess wear and breakages can stop production. This can be expensive due to repair costs, downtime and lower yields. 

Overcoming abrasion at every processing step

Abrasion from sugar cane, stones and earth can cause excess wear on washing, chopping, defibering and crushing systems. Wearfacing coatings can overcome this to enable operators to extract more sugar cane with less downtime. One particularly vulnerable area is rollers in cane crushers, which experience wear and breakages on their teeth. Being made of cast iron, the rolls need particular care. To prevent cracks forming, specialist welding electrodes for cast iron should be used.

It is important for the electrode material to have high hardness and corrosion resistance, which will provide additional wear resistance and ensure a long service life for the rollers. For rollers that experience a lot of damage from rocks and soil, some wearfacing materials offer better resistance to impact.

Wearfacing coatings can build the teeth sides and tips to their original shape so that the crusher will work more efficiently for higher yield. Several passes can be applied to rebuild the teeth with a serrated teardrop profile. This can even be done with an automated welding system to ensure uniform size and spacing between teardrops. It is also possible to apply a top layer of dots onto the sides of teeth while a roller is turning. This creates a rough surface that maximises juice extraction.

Case study: cost savings in action

Burning bagasse can also cause excess wear on fans, tubes and ducts. At one sugar cane mill, a boiler induced draft fan was suffering severe erosion caused by unburned bagasse and soil. These had begun to wear down important sections of the blades until, gradually, the entire rotor wore down. For an idea of the potential impact on production, the plant had four boilers, and each one with a fan.

In a previous attempt to repair the fan, a wearfacing had been applied by electrode welding in one area of the blade where wear had begun to affect the fan. However, this did not last. As an alternative, a Castolin Eutectic engineer applied an arc spray coating based on a 10 mil Arc 500 wire and 20 mil Arc 595 wire. This doubled the rotor lifespan without increasing the weight of the rotor or affecting its balance. 

The result: a more profitable production line

By installing wear-resistant coatings, processing equipment will withstand abrasion from the coarse sugar cane. By avoiding such wear and tear, equipment can last a whole milling season without downtime for repairs. Uninterrupted, each milling season will be more productive, and ultimately more profitable.

To find out more about wear resistant coatings, visit: https://www.castolin.com/sugar

The new RevoPortioner Drum Washer concept gives solid cleaning results while significantly reducing water and energy consumption, establishing itself as a sustainable and profitable solution. (Image source: Marel)

Closely aligned with their sustainability goals, Marel's engineers have launched the new RevoPortioner Drum Washer which significantly reduces water and energy consumption, while giving solid cleaning results

In comparison with the previous washing process, the new drum washer has been found to consume 69% less water and up to 53% less energy, thus translating into the lowest water usage in drum washing technology.

The latest softwarre version of the drum washer ensures a high-tech management of the completely automated washing programme, which makes smarter use of water in the washing unit, while achieving the same cleaning results. Once the drum is lifted out of the RevoPortioner and placed into the drum washing unit, the remainder of the cleaning process including the addition of the required dosage of disinfectant, detergent and water, is fully automated.

The cleaning programme spans the entire width of the drum, effectively covering all corners and edges of the molds, thereby ensuring perfect release of the formed products in the next processing round. To efficiently control energy and water consumption, the RevoPortioner Drum Washer is equipped with a new user-friendly HMI screen which enables easy set-up of the washing programme. This new software allows processors to access detailed information on the system’s touchscreen, including the real-time progress of the washing process. 

For more information, visit: https://marel.com/ 

For grassland specialist KRONE, the use of a front-rear combination significantly improves mowing efficiency. (Image source: LEMKEN)

Agricultural technology specialists KRONE and LEMKEN are utilising the front attachment space to significantly expand the range of application for their autonomous process units

With their joint 'Combined Powers' project, the two companies are focussing on not only the development of autonomous process units, but also the associated work processes by carrying out additional practical deployments at home and abroad. 

The functionality of the autonomous process unit has been significantly enhanced by the integration of a front linkage with PTO shaft, which means that two separate, intelligent attachment spaces are now available. This combination can be used profitably in both grassland and arable farming. For grassland specialist KRONE, for example, the use of a front-rear combination significantly improves mowing efficiency. LEMKEN, on the other hand, utilises the additional function particularly in the areas of stubble cultivation and sowing where rollers and front hoppers can now be easily carried and used.

The VTEs (autonomous process units) were further developed, taking into account ease of maintenance, practicality and optimisation of the sensor carriers. Another highlight is the improvement in the diesel-electric drive. The new generation of machines retains its power output of 170 kW / 230 hp and continues to feature four-wheel steering with large tyres for maximum tractive power and minimum ground pressure.

The advanced autonomous tractor units from KRONE and LEMKEN enable large-scale practical trials and significantly improve the reliability of autonomous processes. Moreover, the two companies rely on open interfaces and are in lively dialogue with other implement manufacturers in order to exploit synergies and create added value for the customer. By closely cooperating with practising farmers, both companies are aiming to further develop their product and make it marketable as quickly as possible. 

For more information, visit: https://combined-powers.com/