VERYX can be configured to sort a wide range of pet foods. When installed at the end of the line, it helps ensure final product quality for kibble, chews, and treats including dried, dehydrated, and freeze-dried products. When installed upstream near raw receiving, it inspects ingredients such as frozen proteins and other ingredients for wet pet foods. By detecting the color, size, shape, and/or structural properties of every object, VERYX removes plastics, glass, paper, and other FM, as well as product defects, as defined by each pet food processor.
“Our vibratory conveyors and mechanical grading systems have had a strong presence in this industry for a long time – almost every leading pet food brand around the world relies on our equipment, and we understand their unique needs. Now that these processors are seeing the value of digital sorting, we’ve leveraged our pet food application expertise to develop VERYX for these applications,” said Marco Azzaretti, Director of Marketing at Key. “Consumers are demanding higher and higher quality pet food and VERYX can help manufacturers elevate their product quality to the level of human-grade while improving the efficiency of their operation.”
Key can integrate VERYX with a variety of vibratory and mechanical grading solutions for transferring, scalping, size separation, fines removal, product distribution, and more. Iso-Flo®, Impulse®, Zephyr™, and Marathon® vibratory conveyors, as well as their rotary separation equipment, are all suitable for pet foods, depending on the application. Built for rugged reliability, Key’s material handling solutions enhance sanitation with features such as open designs, fully-welded frames, nickel-plated finishes, oil-free drives, optional pan covers, and more.
Each VERYX is tailored with the optimal cameras, laser scanners, lighting, ejection system, product handling, and software to meet each customer’s specific requirements. Utilizing in-air inspection, VERYX sees all sides of the product with no blind spots. Next-generation cameras and laser scanners offer twice the resolution of previous sensor technology to find smaller FM and defects. Available in different widths, VERYX satisfies a wide range of capacity requirements.
To maximize FM and defect removal, VERYX can be equipped with Key’s proprietary Pixel Fusion™ technology, which combines signals from multiple cameras and laser scanners at the image pixel level to more clearly identify even the most difficult-to-detect FM and defects. Pixel Fusion helps VERYX to better identify specific FM types and enable the optional FMAlert™ function to send a smart alarm if a critical quality problem occurs, so quick corrective action can be taken. FMAlert also saves a time-stamped image of every critical piece of FM detected by the sorter, which helps processors document and pinpoints product quality events and trends.
Key equips every VERYX with their Discovery™ suite of software capabilities, which enables the sorter to collect, analyze and share data while continuing to sort products. By harnessing data about the sorting process and about every object flowing through the sorter, Discovery can reveal patterns and trends that improve sorting and control upstream and downstream processes. The information that Discovery provides allows processors to better manage incoming raw materials and optimize processes, achieving the next level in operational efficiency.
VERYX eliminates the need for manual inspection, which decreases labor costs and ensures more consistent FM and defect removal while maximizing yields. To ease use and simplify operator training, a highly intuitive UI provides different views to users of various levels depending on their needs. The recipe-driven operation ensures customers can count on consistent performance from their VERYX sorter day in, day out. Operator qualification requirements are reduced, allowing a minimally-skilled individual to become a proficient user of the system in less than one hour.
Key manufactures equipment in both the U.S. and Europe, supports customers worldwide through its extensive sales and SupportPro service network, and offers integration services, from pre-engineering to line start-up. Complete line solutions can include the integration of third-party equipment along with Key’s sorting, conveying, and processing systems to meet the specific needs of each application
