In September at the RWM show in Birmingham, England, Bollegraaf displayed the latest prototype version of RoBB - the automated QC sorting robot. This fully automated robot is engineered to pick multiple kinds of plastics, such as PET, PE’s and PS, as well as paper and OCC, delivering high levels of purity and separation quality during the final stages of quality control, resulting in a significantly higher value of recycler’s output.
This automated sorting technology was shown earlier this year as well at Waste Expo 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The version of RoBB on display at the RWM was optimized by adding a second, laser-guided system for detecting the height of waste products. Together, Bollegraaf says, the NIR (near infrared) and height cameras will enable precision sorting of recyclables, by both material recognition and 3D detection. This in turn will deliver an even higher rate of purity and separation quality than previously. Currently, Bollegraaf says RoBB is undergoing extensive testing at Hanbury Plastics Recycling Ltd. (HPR) in the UK.
