Automatic product sorting system at Century Logistics Joint Stock Company

Seizing this trend, the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (NARIME) has proactively invested in human resources and finances, cooperating with units to gradually master the calculation, design, and integration of automatic systems applying technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

At the same time, the Institute designed, manufactured, and integrated an automatic sorting system for Century Logistics Joint Stock Company, a member of Air Logistics Joint Stock Company (ALS).

Sharing with a reporter from Cong Thuong Newspaper, a representative of the research team from the National Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering said that the automatic sorting system is a solution to replace humans in performing product sorting stages, transitioning from manual hand sorting to using automation systems to sort products according to user specifications.

Identification devices to distinguish different products are an important component in automatic sorting systems. Depending on the type of product in different systems, the identification devices that can be used are sensors (color sorting sensors, shape sorting sensors, material sorting sensors), cameras, etc.

At Century Logistics Joint Stock Company, the products being sorted are plastic trays used in workshops and factories manufacturing electronic equipment. In common systems, the reference point for sorting is the product's profile, or symbols (barcodes, QR codes, patterns) are used to retrieve data of the sorting chute corresponding to a predetermined address.

For the plastic trays in this system, the difficulty compared to conventional sorting systems is the difference in reference points between products. The plastic trays to be sorted mostly have the same geometric profile, differing only in the symbols embossed on their surfaces. This greatly affects the results of the sorting system when the plastic trays come from many different manufacturers with different forms and quality of embossed symbols.

"The above difficulty directly affects the system design, especially the selection of identification devices to meet system requirements" - the research team representative stated.

Optimizing production processes, increasing productivity

The automatic product sorting system at Century Logistics Joint Stock Company was calculated, designed, manufactured, integrated, and successfully put into trial operation by the team of engineers and scientists of NARIME, and officially put into production from January 2023.

Components of the system: (1)- Infeed conveyor; (2)- Imaging chamber (with camera); (3)- Conveyor at imaging chamber; (4)- Sorting conveyor; (5)- Air blow unit; (6)- Reject output; (7)- Product outputs; (8)- Control cabinet

The system uses a sorting device that is a camera integrated with artificial intelligence, capable of capturing and sorting products accurately, especially for products moving on the conveyor at high speed, meeting productivity requirements. To date, the system has been operating stably and reliably, fully meeting production requirements, and is highly appreciated by the investor.

The main task of the automatic product sorting system is to sort plastic trays from the infeed conveyor to each predetermined chute. The plastic trays will be placed on the infeed conveyor, then move to the imaging chamber for the camera to take pictures, identify, and transmit data to the control system. During imaging, the plastic trays continue moving and do not need to stop.

Based on the information sent by the camera, the control system will process and send control signals to the air blow units to direct the product to the correct output as required. The conveyors in the system are set with increasing speeds in order from the infeed conveyor, the conveyor at the imaging chamber, and the sorting conveyor, with the purpose of maintaining appropriate spacing between plastic trays and optimizing system productivity. The selection of output for each type of tray can also be changed flexibly on the system's control screen.

Through operation, the automatic product sorting system at Century Logistics Joint Stock Company can operate continuously over an 8-hour shift per day, recording a productivity of about 7,500 products per hour (equivalent to about 60,000 products per day).

In fact, at the time of trial and official operation, it was not yet the peak period. According to calculations, if operating at maximum productivity, the system can handle up to 70,000 products per day.

"The design, manufacture, and successful operation of the automatic product sorting system at Century Logistics Joint Stock Company has contributed to bringing advanced, current technology into optimizing production processes, increasing productivity, and contributing to reducing operating costs" - the research team representative emphasized.

The success of the task, besides the efforts of the research team, also owes to the enthusiastic support, daring to think and act from Century Logistics Joint Stock Company... Although it is a newly established company, it has focused on investing in technology for the automation of production processes. Furthermore, the success of this task will serve as a basis for continuing to deploy the design, manufacture, and installation of automation systems in other smart manufacturing factories in Vietnam.

Source: Cong Thuong Newspaper