Automatic onion rotation

In the onion processing industry, onions are mechanically peeled. During this process, the onions are manually placed into the machine. This is because the correct orientation of the onion in the machine is crucial for a good cutting result. The 'head' of the onion must point upwards, while the 'tail' of the onion should be facing downwards. Working conditions in such an environment are not optimal. Employees, for instance, suffer from the onion vapors. This has led to a need for automatically orienting the onions in the machine.

SINGA has devised a revolutionary concept for automatically orienting onions. An automatic feeding system places the onion on 3 wheels. Above the wheels, a camera hangs to determine the orientation of the onion. Subsequently, the direction and speed of the wheels are controlled to orient the onions vertically upwards. Once the onion is correctly oriented, it is further transported to the peeling machine.