Automatic defect removal detects black spots, green ends, bruises and other defects directly on the french fries production line and cuts them out, instead of rejecting whole fries. This preserves yield at high throughput.
Removing defects without losing good product
In french fries production, even a small share of defects negatively impacts the quality of the output. Manual sorting depends on labour, slows the line, and never catches everything. Optical sorting rejects the whole fry as soon as a defect is detected, which protects quality but lowers yield. Both approaches treat the defect and the good product as a single piece. The real opportunity is to separate the two.
Cut out the defect. Keep the fry.
S-Blade is built on a simple principle: only remove what truly needs to be removed. Deep learning detects each defect, and S-Blade cuts it out while the rest of the fry continues down the line. The result is higher yield, lower waste and a consistent end product, regardless of incoming potato quality. For high-volume french fry production, the difference shows up directly in output per shift.
Throughput up to 20 metric tons per hour. Cost of ownership estimated at no more than €45K per year.
Built as a complete line, not a single machine
- De-watering shaker removes transport water before inspection.
- Distribution shaker spreads the infeed across the lines.
- Spreader shaker spreads, aligns and singulates the fries.
- S-Blade detects defects with deep learning and cuts them out.
- Outfeed shaker removes nubbins after cutting.
Recipe-free processing
No recipe changes, no software tuning and no hardware modifications when switching products. Unlike conventional systems that need mechanical reconfiguration for each product type, S-Blade adapts to product variations automatically. For a plant that runs multiple french fry types and cut sizes across a shift, this removes changeover downtime and operator setup between runs.
Stable 24/7 performance
Self-learning vision algorithms maintain consistent cutting accuracy and throughput over extended production periods. The system is designed for fully autonomous multi-shift operation, without the performance degradation that can build up in rule-based systems over a long run. Output stays predictable from the start of a shift to the end.
Jam-free operation
When a jam occurs, the line flushes automatically, so a disturbance does not turn into a line stop or force operators to clear residue by hand. Fewer interruptions means more usable production hours.
Self-cleaning
Cleaning runs at set intervals during production, keeping the system at peak performance. S-Blade also cleans itself when it detects fouling on the lanes, and thanks to deep learning, fouling has limited impact on performance in the first place.
Low cost of ownership
With very few moving parts, maintenance for S-Blade is low and estimated to not exceed €30K per year. Low maintenance results in high uptime, making your ROI even more attractive.
Food safety
The cutting blades are made of hardened steel and replaced preventively once a year. Scheduled replacement keeps the blades in a known condition and supports food safety on the line.
Defect removal and optical sorting
Optical sorting and defect removal solve different problems. Optical sorters detect defective fries and reject them. S-Blade detects the defect and cuts it out, keeping the good part of the fry. The two are complementary, not competing: used together, optical sorting and S-Blade lift overall yield.
