NRT launches new optical sorting platform

National Recovery Technologies (NRT) has announced a next generation platform for the company’s SpydIR and ColorPlus optical sorters, which will debut during the IFAT and WasteExpo tradeshows. The new platform incorporates NRT’s proprietary In-Flight Sorting technology and continuous auto-calibration, and introduces numerous new features which include performance-enhancing design and internalized controls.

 The new design is a culmination of customer feedback and years of research and development aimed at improving NRT’s already industry-leading recovery rates. “For our customers, a couple of percentage points in recovery can significantly impact their bottom line,” said NRT President Matthias Erdmannsdoerfer. “Through mapping the trajectory of ejected commodities with high-speed cameras, we found that a small percentage were bouncing back and not being recovered. The new units offer a sleek, modern design, but more importantly the new shape provides advanced trajectory control that virtually eliminates “bounce backs” of any ejected objects.”

The platform’s shape creates an even more controlled ejection pattern and laminar air flow. This improvement will significantly improve the recovery of fiber and film, commodities which, industry wide, had lower optical recovery rates than containers. “It’s a huge advancement,” said Erdmannsdoerfer. The new design is delivered with an entirely self-contained electrical system and a completely new software package, featuring an intuitive HMI (human machine interface) and powerful analytics delivered by NRT Connect. “The new generation is smarter and makes the Internet of Things a reality for optical sorting,” Erdmannsdoerfer went on. “We are well past the traditional remote log-in for technicians – these machines are proactive, constantly monitoring activity and instantaneously sending reports and messages, such as performance metrics and the life expectancy of wear parts. In the case of a fault, the NRT Service Team is notified immediately.”

The plug-and-play design allows for a faster installation, commissioning and startup, and delivery of a proven solution. “We’re not simply a supplier of detection and ejection components. We manage the entire process, and this new generation is another step in our heritage as a provider of high-performance sorting systems,” said Erdmannsdoerfer. “Everything is designed to work together, from detection and ejection to flight trajectory. The air and cooling system, an accessible and upgraded ejection block, and larger clear side panels and other improved access points are all designed to deliver recovery, purity and maintenance benefits to the customer. We’re extremely excited to bring these game-changing optical sorters to market.”