Color Based Product Sorting Machine Using PLC

Abstract

Production and packaging systems widely used product lines sorting system as a bridge. Industries have been sorting systems to sort their products materials according to the criteria to reduce the labor work and improve overall accuracy. Manual sorting requires excessive effort and is time consuming. Automatic sorting allows for a fast and efficient sorting of the products. To demonstrate this sorting system, we have developed a PLC which is based on sorting system where we use pneumatic cylinders with color sensors to automate the entire system. The system consists of a conveyor belt to carry products and a color sensor to sense the color type of the product, the system will then utilize 2 pneumatic cylinders which have solenoid valves to actuate and push the product in their respective collection station. The color sensor has been used to identify the object passing on the conveyor based on a specific color. As soon as the required color is identified the color sensor passes a specific signal to the PLC which will in turn operate the respective cylinder to push out the product in respective station. This way we can fully automate the sorting system. Sorting of these products is very difficult process. Continuous manual sorting creates a consistency issue. This paper has described a working prototype designed for the automatic sorting of objects based on their color. Color sensor is used to detect the color of the product and the PLC microcontroller was used to control the overall process. The identification process of the color is based on the frequency analysis of the output of the color sensor. The experimental result promises that the prototype will fulfill the needs for higher production and the precise quality in the field of automation.

Keywords: Automatic Product Sorting; Programmable Logic Controller; Color Based Product Sorting; Color Sensor; Automation