Water unloading adapted to an existing apple sorting line
This project was prepared for a customer who already had an apple sorting line but needed a gentler and more efficient way to load fruit. Due to the limited space in the hall, the water unloading layout had to be designed individually and adapted to the existing sorting machine.
Apple water unloading system with a channel designed for an existing sorting line.
Country of installation: Poland
The customer needed water unloading for an existing apple sorting line. The previous layout occupied the full length of the hall, so it was not possible to simply move the sorting machine away from the wall or install the water channel in a standard way. The most important task was therefore to adapt the new line component to the already operating installation and to the limited space inside the building.
To enable the installation of the water unloading system, it was necessary to prepare space at the connection point between the dryer and the sorting machine. A recess was made in the wall in this area, allowing the correct transfer of fruit from the wet section to further sorting without rebuilding the entire line or changing the organisation of work in the hall.
Water unloading enables gentle emptying of pallet boxes and stable feeding of apples to the dryer and sorting machine. In this project, the key issue was not only adding the water tank itself, but also maintaining the correct flow of fruit in a place where the line was positioned very close to the wall.
Thanks to the individually adapted layout, it was possible to improve loading convenience without replacing the existing sorting machine and without completely rebuilding the hall.
The water channel could not be routed straight along the wall between the unloading tank and the dryer. For this reason, a channel with a bend was designed, running at an angle, which made it possible to bypass the spatial limitations and correctly connect the water unloading system with the next part of the line.
This solution made it possible to maintain the functionality of the existing sorting machine, improve the way apples are fed and reduce the risk of fruit damage during loading.
This project shows that water unloading can be used not only in new lines designed from the ground up, but also as a modernisation of an existing sorting machine. It requires precise adaptation to the hall layout, available space and the connection point with the dryer and the further sorting system. As a result, the customer received a gentler method of loading apples without having to give up the existing line.