DATA Technologies to introduce new generation of counting machines

For sectors like the seed industry, where it's imperative to be able to quickly and accurately count small items, reliable counting equipment is a must. To fill the needs of industries like those, DATA Technologies has been working on the next generation of machines, which they promise are faster and more accurate than machines of the past.

DATA Technologies has been developing, manufacturing and marketing advanced counting and packing solutions for the past 12 years. They specialize in using the latest electronics, optics and software to develop unique real-time image processing technologies. Those technologies can replace old technologies that rely on weight to count and sort items. That was the case when DATA worked with one of the leading independent seed breeders, Enza Zaden.

“Especially for the more expensive vegetable seeds, like tomato and pepper, Enza was looking for an efficient way of counting seeds that didn't involve weighing,” said Dick Vriend, processing manager for Enza Zaden. For companies like Enza, weight could provide a close estimate of how many seeds were sorted, but that method couldn't approach the accuracy that DATA's machines provide. In collaboration with SN Machinenbau, DATA installed their S660 counter, which uses six detectors and feeders to achieve 99.9 percent accuracy.

“The complete set-up is operating very well at the moment,” noted Vriend. “The foils are filled with exact numbers of seeds, with high accuracy and at the right speed. Moreover, we have run the process with very low variations in amount of seeds per bag.”

Another seed company, Rijk Zwaan, also installed a S660 counter, and they praised the faster sorting times the machine provides as well as the technical support during the project.

“There was a good collaboration between the technicians of DATA, Rijk Zwaan and Ausloos, the supplier of the current packaging machine,” said René Hendriks, head of Operations Co-ordination Centre at Rijk Zwaan. “We could finish the project on time, and with the DATA Count S660 integration we are able to pack up to almost three times faster.”

For more information:
Arela Hamou
DATA Detection Technologies Ltd.
Email: arela@data-technologies.com

Publication date: Wed 23 Jul 2014