AccuVision Upgrade Program Update - Atlantic Potato Distributors
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The AccuVision upgrade program is in full swing! Exeter Engineering is working with customers to upgrade their existing machines to the latest in presentation and optical grading technology. That means they get cutting edge technology without having to buy a new sorter!
We recently completed an upgrade for our friends at Atlantic Potato, up in New Brunswick, Canada. They’ve had an AccuVision for 11 years and were interested in upgrading the machine so they could use our ID Technology AI-powered grading suite. They didn’t have the space or need for a new facility, so we had to complete the work in their existing packing shed in tight quarters: only 37 inches of headroom above the side rail of the sorter!
Exeter Engineering techs got the job done. We’ve replaced camera box and installed new cameras and electrics throughout. We also upgraded the controls, with a new 27 inch touch-screen control station, running the latest ID Technology version, customized to Atlantic’s product. While we were at it, we replaced the cables and cable tracks as well as replacing all of the kickers on all 12 lanes of the AccuVision.
The results are in and Atlantic Potato tells us they are very happy indeed! They are seeing a significant jump in grading accuracy with ID Technology, especially with its ability to detect growth crack, green defects, and pressure bruising. Size and shape detection are also way up, and the new ID Technology interface is much easier to use, especially on the new, bigger touch-screen.
At Exeter Engineering, we treat our customers as family, and families don’t stop being family after you haven’t sold them something in a while. That’s one big reason we started the AccuVision Upgrade Program: to continue offering value to our customers throughout the lifetime of the equipment they buy from us.
A new bell pepper line saves costs, increases productivity
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Our friends at A&B Costanza Farms in Sodus, Michigan recently asked us to help them design and build a new packing line for bell peppers. They wanted a line that would handle greater volume with better protection for their valuable crop. They were also hoping to reduce the number of people required to operate the line, even as they packed more product.
Challenge accepted.
Exeter Engineering worked with A&B Costanza Farms to understand their concerns and identify solutions to those problems that would fit into their budget and physical constraints. The result is a bell pepper line that delivers volumes of more than 45,000 lbs per hour with 30% fewer personnel and far less damage to their product than other lines.
The line centers on Exeter Engineering’s Sidewinder sorter, powered by our ID Technology AI-powered optical grading suite. ID Technology takes advantage of Sidewinder’s spinning presentation system to use its high definition cameras and custom-tuned LED lighting to capture superior imagery of every facet of each piece of product. Better imagery means better grading results, especially using our AI-powered grading features. The system sorts into three separate grades. It quickly identifies the presence and severity of discoloration (sun tan), shape, squatty defects, surface punctures, scarring and machine damage, grading each bell pepper by size, color, weight, external grade and overall shape.
The line also features:
- An XTR 500 Zone Dumper to receive the bell peppers into the line (and automatically clean the bins they arrive in for quick re-use!);
- An XTR 100 4-belt EvenFlow Accumulator to regulate the volume of product in the line, keeping it moving at a steady volume; and
- AccuCount Fillers, to automatically fill cartons with graded product…gently and without additional staff
The resulting line is a huge success. A&B Costanza farms has reduced their overhead while also increasing the quality of the product leaving their facilities. The flexibility of the ID Technology system also offers them the ability to quickly and easily respond to the market, increasing their bottom line without increasing their headcount.
If you’re thinking about adding or upgrading your packing solutions, contact the fresh produce packing experts at Exeter Engineering. Common sense engineering married with cutting edge technology since 1978.
The AccuVision Upgrade Program
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Throwaway culture. Planned obsolesce. Upgrade cycles. There are a lot of ways used to describe pushing someone to buy something new to replace something they already own, that’s working very well. If you’re like us, when you find a tool you can rely upon, you take care of that tool so it can continue doing its job well. That’s why we have always designed every product we make to be reliable for season-after-season, and we have always built those products to last.
Sometimes, though, the latest and the greatest innovation really is something you can use, and something that will really improve your business. In those times, you have to think seriously about investing in the new thing and deciding what sort of return on investment justifies the expense. That’s just business.
When we introduced our AccuVision 360 last year, we knew that the benefits it offered would tempt many of our loyal customers. The revolutionary presentation system, tightly integrated with our AI-powered ID Technology suite, all built on a super-robust modular system…it’s pretty tough to beat. We also knew that some of our customers wouldn’t be able to make the math work to justify a new machine when their existing AccuVision sorters were still working hard and doing a pretty good job.
Our customers are like family, and we if we can help, we will. We’re also engineers, so we knew that if we did some tinkering, we’d be able to come up with a solution that worked.
We did.
Introducing our AccuVision Upgrade Program. For customers with Exeter Engineering’s reliable workhorse AccuVision who want the latest and greatest without breaking the bank, we’ve got you. With the AccuVision upgrade, we’ll come and replace your existing carrier system with the AccuVision 360’s rotating carrier. We’ll also upgrade the optical sorting equipment with a new camera hood, new multi-spectral cameras, new LED lighting, and ID Technology’s latest software and controls. When we’re done, it’s like you have swapped out an old machine for the best machine on the market…without changing a thing about your packing lines or the reliability you’ve come to depend upon.
Cutting edge technology pared with common sense engineering…that’s Exeter Engineering. If you’re packing fresh produce, we’d love to help your business thrive.
Lone Wolf Farms loves their new Oculus
Oculus potato sorter
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We have recently installed several of our Oculus compact sorters around North America. Our customers are loving these sorters so much, we felt compelled to share a bit of feedback.
Lone Wolf Farms of Minto, ND recently added a new Oculus sorter. Lone Wolf’s Chris Bjorneby described a few of the ways that Oculus has improved their sorting:
• The ability of the Oculus to fully rotate the product underneath ID Technology cameras has meant better images and better sorting results the first time.
• They love Exeter’s ID Technology AI-powered grading suite and the fact that it uses an AI model we’ve tuned to regional defects/potato red skin found in their area, yielding superior results.
• The Oculus has a shorter drop than other sorters, so it is gentler on their No. 1 potatoes.
• The Oculus is easy to use. It has a flexible user interface and intuitive software. It’s fast and simple to run both AI-powered and “traditional” features, ensuring that each sort works right. And the 24-inch control screens enable operator to select any of the 21 features from a single-screen and see how the change will affect the ongoing sort, live.
• They appreciate our top notch customer service, from installation through operation. They were especially pleased to able to work directly with the software development team building their AI-model.
“We feel like we’re partners as much as customers,” Chris told us. “We appreciate the help that Exeter Engineering gives us to serve our own customers better.”
Check out the Oculus and get in touch!
Honeydews and mixed melons
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Exeter Engineering recently completed installation of packing line for honeydews and mixed melons. The line features our AccuVision XL and uses ID Technology, our AI-powered grading suite — the first line anywhere to use artificial intelligence to grade those produce types. We worked with our good friends at Five Crowns Marketing to develop the new line and they liked it so much, we offered to make a case study in how Exeter Engineering can help melon packers everywhere. Check it out!
Exeter Engineering helps customers upgrade to the newest version of ID Technology
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CAMBRIA, WI – Teams from Exeter Engineering are working with customers across North America to upgrade their ID Technology system to version 2.07. One of our teams was recently in Wisconsin to help a customer upgrade their existing AccuVision sorters to the latest version of ID Technology. The customer had not previously used an Exeter Engineering AI-powered sorting system, relying on third-party add-ons in the past. We worked with the customer to develop a custom-engineered upgrade, featuring a new camera box to house the ID Technology 2.0 suite of multi-spectral cameras, custom-tuned LED lighting. We paired this upgrade in optical technology with an improved set of AI-powered controls and control interfaces.
Currently in the testing phase, these upgrades will reduce the customer’s sorting costs significantly, reducing reruns and providing superior, first sort results.
