Key Technology, a member of Duravant’s food sorting and handling group, will introduce its COMPASS belt-fed optical sorter at PACK EXPO Las Vegas. Like the chute-fed COMPASS that was introduced in 2023, the belt-fed system delivers foreign material and defect removal while being easy to use, with simplified controls, sanitation and maintenance. Designed for wet, sticky and delicate products, the belt-fed COMPASS helps processors ensure food safety, achieve product quality and maximize yield while delivering a ROI.

“We launched our COMPASS family of optical sorters two years ago with the chute-fed system, which is achieving great results in production facilities worldwide,” says Jack Lee, Duravant Group president of food sorting and handling. “Now, after extensive development and testing, we’re launching the belt-fed COMPASS to serve additional markets. This new system requires minimal training and delivers exceptional value to more types of food processors.”

The belt-fed COMPASS is ideal for a variety of produce, snack foods and other products that cannot be handled by chute-fed sorters. The belt configuration provides gentle handling for delicate applications, reducing product breakage while maintaining throughput. Unlike chute-fed systems, which require elevation changes, belt-fed sorters are installed horizontally, minimizing facility modifications and reducing installation costs.

Recipe-driven operation ensures sorting performance on every product run. The user interface mimics smartphone app navigation, allowing workers without technical skills to learn to operate the COMPASS in under 30 minutes. Processors can create recipes in under 10 minutes and switch between products in less than a minute. Complete changeovers, including washdown, take as little as 15 minutes. The sorter features intelligent belt control that automatically maintains proper belt tracking, eliminating the need for manual adjustments required by traditional systems.

Powered by Key’s NEXT sort engine, the COMPASS finds and rejects plastic, glass, paper, wood, and other organic and inorganic foreign material, as well as processor-specified product defects. Equipped with customizable camera options and up to eight channels of multispectral sensor data, the sorter can detect the color, size, shape and structural properties of every object to identify smaller defects than systems with conventional three-channel cameras. For many applications, the COMPASS eliminates the need for laser or hyperspectral sensors while maintaining comparable sorting performance.

Key designed the COMPASS for maximum sanitation with open architecture, sloped surfaces and minimal moving parts. Sensors and light windows are positioned away from product splatter, so inspection is sustained throughout long production cycles without operator intervention. The belt can be removed for thorough cleaning, while the open design facilitates access for workers and minimizes cleaning and maintenance requirements.

Every COMPASS is equipped with Key’s Discovery, a data analytics and reporting software that turns the sorter into an IIoT-connected device and information center. By delivering product quality and sorting process data, Key’s Discovery gives processors insights into line operations and product quality trends.

The COMPASS is available in a range of configurations and sizes to meet customer application and capacity requirements. Each belt-fed COMPASS is engineered with a compact footprint that simplifies installation and minimizes floor space requirements in existing facilities. The system can be installed at a variety of points in the processing line, from upstream near raw receiving to final inspection just prior to packaging, depending on the application.