Monarch VGN Series SWIR Sorting System

Nuts present a sorting challenge that conventional optical sorting systems cannot fully address — shells and foreign materials that closely match the color and appearance of good product are often indistinguishable by standard RGB cameras alone. For processors supplying premium retail, confectionery, and foodservice markets, these visually identical contaminants pose serious threats to product quality, production efficiency, and brand trust. 

The Monarch VGN Series is a multi-spectral, dual-sensor sorting system tailored for premium nuts sorting to detect what the human eye and standard RGB cameras simply cannot. Leveraging cutting-edge dual-band InGaAs-SWIR and high-resolution RGB (HR-RGB) imaging technology, the system delivers unique chemical composition inspection capabilities that go far beyond the reach of conventional RGB-camera-based sorting systems — SWIR detects visually indistinguishable shells and foreign materials which are invisible to standard color sorting, while RGB detects surface-feature-based defects.

Its application-specific detection algorithms ensure consistently high sorting accuracy across a diverse range of nut varieties — helping processors remove visually indistinguishable shells and foreign materials, ensure compliance with food safety regulations, increase throughput, reduce labor costs, and deliver premium-quality nuts with confidence.

Applications

Technical Features

● Custom-Designed Optical Sorting System for Premium Nut Processors

✦ Sealed scanning/control enclosures provide machine with high-level dust protection

✦ Integrated Dust Control System and Air Cooling System integrated maintains high operation reliability and performance consistency, and minimizes downtime

✦ High-Capacity Vibratory Feeding System evenly distributes nuts into a single layer to minimize overlapping

✦ Modular vertical frame design offers 1, 3, 5, or 8-chute configurations, enabling processors to select the capacity that best fits their production requirements

● High-Precision Defect Inspection System

✦ Dual-Band InGaAs-SWIR Camera System captures imagery across two short-wave infrared bands, detecting visually indistinguishable shells and foreign materials that are invisible to standard RGB cameras.

✦ High-Resolution RGB Camera System delivers precise surface imagery with accurate color reproduction, detecting surface-feature-based defects such as shell discoloration, along with surface blemishes and shape irregularities that standard color sorting relies on.

✦ High-Stability Halogen Lighting System provides consistent, flicker-free illumination across the full visible spectrum, with air-cooling ensuring stable output and extended lamp life during continuous operation.

✦ High-Intensity LED Illumination System delivers powerful, energy-efficient lighting with long service life and minimal heat output, ensuring sharp surface detail capture at high throughput speeds.

✦ Market-leading high-precision detection of various defects in nuts based on surface feature and spectral signature — for premium nut processors, with distinct advantages compared to traditional optical sorting:

✩ Detection of visually indistinguishable shells and foreign materials that RGB cameras cannot differentiate from good product

✩ Superb removal of shell fragments and pit residues with higher accuracy

✩ Better recognition of plastics, stones, glass and metal even if color-matched to nuts

● High-Performance Air Ejector System

✦ Engineered for enhanced durability, optimized speed and air consumption

✦ Accurate rejection and reliable performance at high-capacity sorting

✦ Significant reduction in false rejection rate and total cost of ownership  

● 15-Inch Industrial Touchscreen Control Panel

✦ Intuitive HMI with multilingual support

✦ Instant switching between product profiles

✦ Comprehensive remote support system

✩ Remote Access and Monitoring

✩ Real-time Performance Dashboard

✩ Live Expert Diagnosis

✩ Interactive Troubleshooting

Specifications

Specifications are approximate and subject to change without notice. Lauffer Vision reserves all rights for modifications.