2nd International Conference on Advances in Science & Technology (ICAST-2019)

K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering & Information Technology, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Color based product Sorting Machine Using PLC

Amit Zanzane Siyaram Soni
Ankit Yadav
Electronics and Telecommunications Electronics and Telecommunications
Electronics and Telecommunications
Engineering Engineering
Engineering
K.J Somaiya Institute of Engineering K.J Somaiya Institute of Engineering
K.J Somaiya Institute of Engineering
and Information Technology and Information Technology
and Information Technology
Mumbai, India Mumbai, India
Mumbai, India
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]
Pradnya Kamble
Suresh Teli
Electronics and Telecommunications
Electronics and Telecommunications
Engineering
Engineering
K.J Somaiya Institute of Engineering
K.J Somaiya Institute of Engineering
and Information Technology
and Information Technology
Mumbai, India
Mumbai, India
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract—Production and packaging systems widely used different collection bins. So, this way we have developed the
product lines sorting system as a bridge. Industries have been fully automated height-based sorting system. Machines can
sorting systems to sort their products materials according to be used to perform highly repetitive tasks better than
the criteria to reduce the labor work and improve overall humans. Labor fatigue on assembly lines can result in
accuracy. Manual sorting requires excessive effort and is time reduced performance and cause more challenges in
consuming. Automatic sorting allows for a fast and efficient maintaining the quality of product. Any employee who had
sorting of the products. To demonstrate this sorting system, we been performing any inspection task over and over
have developed a PLC which is based on sorting system where repeatedly may eventually fail to recognize the color of the
we use pneumatic cylinders with color sensors to automate the
product. Automating any of the task in the industry helps
entire system. The system consists of a conveyor belt to carry
products and a color sensor to sense the color type of the
greatly to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing
product, the system will then utilize 2 pneumatic cylinders system. Purpose of the model is to design and implement a
which have solenoid valves to actuate and push the product in system to automatically separates products depending on
their respective collection station. The color sensor has been their color. Machine consists of 3 parts: Conveyor, Color
used to identify the object passing on the conveyor based on a Sensor, and DC Motor. For reducing human efforts on
specific color. As soon as the required color is identified the mechanical maneuvering different types of sorting machines
color sensor passes a specific signal to the PLC which will in are being developed. The machines way is too expensive due
turn operate the respective cylinder to push out the product in to complexity in fabrication process. Common requirement
respective station. This way we can fully automate the sorting in color sorting is of color sensing and identification.
system. Sorting of these products is very difficult process. Industrial automation and robotics play important role in
Continuous manual sorting creates a consistency issue. This growth of industry. The main criteria in industry are quality
paper has described a working prototype designed for the and flexibility of the product. In 80‟s robot were used to
automatic sorting of objects based on their color. Color sensor perform tasks like machine tending, material transfer,
is used to detect the color of the product and the PLC painting, welding which does not require high accuracy.
microcontroller was used to control the overall process. The Considering greater role of robots it was predicted in 90‟s
identification process of the color is based on the frequency that industrial robots will become increasingly vital in
analysis of the output of the color sensor. The experimental applications which require high precision and accuracy.
result promises that the prototype will fulfill the needs for
Autonomous robots with sensors are used for accuracy and
higher production and the precise quality in the field of
automation.
precision in product which gradually improves the growth of
industry. To achieve this precision, robots are programmed
Keywords— Automatic Product Sorting; Programmable for a single task taking sensory information. Real time and
Logic Controller; Color Based Product Sorting; Color Sensor; highly accurate characteristics of small objects in a fast
Automation. flowing stream would open new directions for industrial
sorting processes. Recent advances in electronics and printed
circuit board technology open new perspectives for industrial
I. INTRODUCTION
application in this field [8].
Sorting systems are used to bridge between production
and packaging machinery. Sorting systems are used to sort II. IDENTIFICATION AND SORTING
items based on various criteria so that they can be packed
accordingly. Manual sorting is a time consuming and effort A. ColoR Identification
intensive process. To demonstrate the sorting system, we
developed a PLC based sorting system project that uses Color identification systems are increasingly being used
pneumatic cylinders with infrared sensors to automate the for automated applications in industries mainly for detecting
system. The system consists of a conveyor belt to carry the automation errors and monitoring overall quality of the
products and infrared sensors to sense the height of the speed at production line. They are also used at the assembly
products, the sensors are placed at two different positions, lines to identify and also classify the products based on color.
system now utilizes two pneumatic cylinders with solenoid The main objectives of their use include to check the quality
valves to actuate them and to push the product in to two of product and to facilitate the sorting and packaging, they
are also used to assess the quality of product in the storage

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 2nd International Conference on Advances in Science & Technology (ICAST-2019)
K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering & Information Technology, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

and to monitor the waste products as used in food industry. testing and debugging are also discussed. This
Because of this increasing demand there has been an edition has been enhanced with new material on
abundance of color sensors and the choice in industries is I/O, logic, and protocols and networking. For the
dependent on the specific application. We have low cost and UK audience only: This book is fully aligned with
simple color sensors which will be preferred over the overly BTEC Higher National requirements [4].
sophisticated solutions for a less demanding application. In  Push Button
such a case our top priority is to reduce the cost and power
 LED
consumption. Colored names can also be used to conjure a
reasonably consistent perception. There are 3 primary colors  Relay card - It is an electrical switch.
Red, Green and Blue. All the colors in the visible range can Electromagnets are used to operate the switch
be obtained by mixing these 3 primary colors. Due to the fact mechanically although other operating principles
that the human color vision is actually accomplished in part also used like solid-state relays. Relays will be
by three different types of cone cells which are in the retina, used where it’s necessary to control circuit by a
that is why 3 values are necessary and also sufficient to low-power signal, or when several circuits are to be
define any color. Color Theory has described that there are 3 controlled by a signal.
values which are coordinates of a point in a 3D space which  Conveyor Belt - Run by a 12V DC Motor of 60
and give rise to the concept of color space. Hue, Saturation rpm, through a pulley system, the belt transports
and Luminance is an example of a color coordinate system. the envelope to the collection unit [1].
Color names can be used and conjure reasonably consistent  DC Motor - 30 RPM Side Shaft 37mm diameter
perceptions. There have eleven basic color names have been compact DC Gear Motor is suitable for small
identified such as white, gray, black, red, yellow, green, blue, robots / automation systems. Motor runs smoothly
orange, purple, pink, and brown. Most or all colors can be from 4V to 12V and gives 30 RPM at 12V.Motor
described in terms of variations and combinations of these
has 6mm diameter, 22mm length drive shaft with D
colors. Due to the fact that human color vision is
shape for excellent coupling [2].
accomplished in part by three different types of cone cells in
the retina, it follows that three values are necessary and  Pneumatic Cylinder - These are the mechanical
sufficient to define any color [5]. devices which use the power of the compressed gas
to produce a force which is in a reciprocating linear
B. Piston Sorting motion.
 Pneumatic Pipe - These are the systems that will
Color based sorting technology has evolved a lot from
the early designs. Our system configuration uses a color propel cylindrical containers through the networks
sensor and a piston. In industrial application we require some of tubes by compressed air otherwise by a partial
sort of automated identification process for the classification vacuum. They are also used for transporting solid
of object placed on moving conveyor. The object may be objects, compared to conventional pipelines, that
randomly positioned and oriented while moving on a transports fluids.
conveyor belt. A color sensor is located above the conveyor  Pneumatic Fitting
to view the object. The pushing of object after its color has  Solenoid Valve - It is also known as an
been detected is carried out by using a piston. A piston can electromechanical device in which the solenoid
be used to push the object in order to sort it in a bucket. which uses an electric current to generate a
magnetic field and also thereby operate a
III. COMPONENTS USED mechanism which will regulate the opening of the
fluid flow in the valve.
The components used for the current prototype include:
Hardware-  Brackets & Mounts
 Snyder Tudo Programmable Logic Control (PLC) -  Supporting Frame
A programmable logic controllers (PLC) is a real-  Joints & Fixture
time system optimized for use in severe conditions  Couplings - It is a device that is used for
such as high/low temperatures or an environment connecting two shafts together at their ends for the
with excessive electrical noise. This control purpose of transmitting power. These do not
technology is designed to have multiple interfaces normally allow a discontinuation of shafts during
(I/O) to connect and control multiple mechatronic operation, yet there are torque limiting couplings
devices such as sensors and actuators. which can also slip or disconnect whenever the
Programmable Logic Controllers, Fifth Edition, torque is exceeded.
continues to be a straight forward, easy-to-read  Screws & Bolts
book that presents the principles of PLCs while not  Silencer
tying itself to one vendor or another. Extensive
examples and chapter ending problems utilize Software -
several popular PLCs currently on the market  Connected Components Workbench
highlighting understanding of fundamentals that  Ladder Logic - Different methods of writing
can be used no matter the specific technology. programs became adopted by most PLC
Ladder programming is highlighted throughout manufacturers, however each tended to have
with detailed coverage of design characteristics, developed their own versions and so an
development of functional blocks, instruction lists, international standard has been adopted for ladder
and structured text. Methods for fault diagnosis, programming and indeed all the methods used for

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 2nd International Conference on Advances in Science & Technology (ICAST-2019)
K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering & Information Technology, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

programming PLCs. The standard, published in Typically, such a PLC might have 6, 8, 12 or 24 inputs and
1993, is IEC 1131-3 (International Electrotechnical 4, 8 or 16 outputs and a memory which can store some 300
Commission). The IEC 1131-3 programming to 1000 instructions [7].
languages are ladder diagrams (LAD), instruction
list (IL), sequential function charts (SFC), E. Interfacing
structured text (ST), and function block diagrams Interfacing is a term used in electronics when different
(FBD). electronic devices are attached. The term is commonly used
when attaching memory chips. Interfacing also often refers
IV. IMPLEMENTATION to the connection of peripheral devices to computers. For
Micro-controllers it is useful to the extent that they
A. Conveyor Belt communicate with other devices, such as sensors, motors,
A Belt conveyor is commonly used equipment for switches, keypads, displays, memory and even other micro-
continuous transport it consists of a high efficiency and has controllers. Many interface methods have been developed
large conveying capacity, a simpler construction and a small over the years to solve the complex problem of balancing
amount of maintenance. It Can be achieved at different circuit design criteria such as features, cost, size, weight,
distances and different materials transportation. It is very power consumption, reliability, availability,
widely used in the manufacturing and other projects. The manufacturability.
first step was to construct the conveyor belt. The entire unit In our project we need to do the following interfacing:
will consist of a conveyor belt which is driven by an DC  Color Sensor to PLC
motor. The conveyor belt has been mounted on the mild  Infrared Sensor to PLC
steel frame. At the two ends of the frame we will use journal  Conveyor Belt to PLC
bearing, 2 drum pulleys are bolted to frame over which the  Pneumatics to PLC.
belt will run. For the drive, the DC motor has been used. For  DC Motor to PLC [3].
the speed reduction we have sub frame which is having
intermediate shafts. For the wiring and electronic assembly,
a separate sheet of metal block is bolted to the frame. After V. RESULT AND CONCLUSION
sorting, a provision is made for automatic switching off the
conveyor belt. The main objective of our project has been to sort the
object based on the color for sorting in the industries. This
B. Color Sensor was successfully implemented. The proposed system works
The color sensor is the next step we have to make sure on a PLC which is widely used in the industries. The system
that the color sensor we are using properly interfaces with will work when any colored object is placed on the
the plc. We could achieve this in 2 ways either get a color conveyor belt. The object can be colored Red, Blue, Green
sensor compatible with plc or use another microcontroller or a mixture of any of these colors. A color sensor is
and use the color sensor compatible with it however we will attached on the side of conveyor belt for detection of the
then also need to interface the microcontroller and the plc. object. The color sensor will read the color values in terms
Next after calibrating the color sensor and setting it to the of RGB percentage of the object color and compare it with a
desired threshold level place it on the conveyor belt. We can predetermined value threshold already programmed using
use any number of color sensors depending on the number the PLC. If the color sensor will find the color to be above
of objects we want to sort. Here we will be using a pair of the threshold it will instruct the PLC to activate the piston
color sensor and infrared sensor as our prototype is limited right next to the color sensor. The piston will now push the
to classifying just 2 objects. object into a bucket right in front of it. If the color sensor
reads a different value then the set threshold it will just pass
C. Pneumatics it forward where another piston will sort the product in
After the successful completion of all of the previous another bucket. Our prototype has been designed for sorting
steps we then have to add a pneumatic piston next to the objects of any shape or size as long as they fit on the
color sensor. For the pushing and the sorting purpose the conveyor belt and have distinct colors. This prototype will
pushing mechanisms mounted on the frame. This become more complex if we want to increase the number of
mechanism consists of a simple piston mechanism. objects sorted based on different colors. The placement of
the object on the first conveyor belt is a very crucial step. It
D. PLC
must be so placed that the center of the object and that of the
The PLC is programmed using the Ladder Logic. Two sensor should be aligned with the same vertical plane, so
wooden blocks have been arranged depending on the that perfect detection can take place. The main objective of
programming of the PLC to separate the products based on this project was to develop an object sorting system based
the color. The PLC needs to be properly programmed as it is on certain specifications. We consider this project as a
the main controller and is essential for the overall working journey where we acquired knowledge and also gained some
of the project. There are two common types of mechanical insights into the subject which we have shared in this report.
design for PLC systems; a single box, and the modular/rack PLC has been used as the main microcontroller to control
types. The single box type (or, as sometimes termed, brick) the various operations. We have used this system to test
is commonly used for small programmable controllers and is multiple objects with different colors and got correct
supplied as an integral compact package complete with detection of color as well as correct sorting. This is as long
power supply, processor, memory, and input/output units. as the colors of the objects are from the preset values

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 2nd International Conference on Advances in Science & Technology (ICAST-2019)
K. J. Somaiya Institute of Engineering & Information Technology, University of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

assigned in the sensor and their placement on the belt is  PH sensors installed for food industry application
perfect. The project will perform as above after completion. to check the freshness.
 Replacing DC motors by the stepper motors to
increase the accuracy.
 Sensors can be replaced by a camera for digital
processing which is done using MATLAB.
 A Robotic arm can be used instead of flippers and
containers to place the object at desired locations,
thus making the entire process of sorting more
effective.
 Modifications can be done to inspect the cracks,
defects on the surface of the object [6].
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fig. 1 Conveyor Belt
We would also like to show our gratitude to Professor
Pradnya Kamble for sharing her pearls of wisdom with us
during the course of this project and guiding us throughout.
VI. FUTURE SCOPE
It is a very useful in a wide variety of industries with the REFERENCES
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