Cashew Color Sorter
CCD optics catch every off-colour
A CCD optical color sorter that ejects scorched, spotted and off-white kernels at high speed — the machine that holds white-grade export specs.
The TTQ Cashew Color Sorter uses high-resolution CCD cameras and air ejectors to remove scorched, spotted, dark and foreign-material kernels from the stream at high speed. It is what lets a processor hold strict white-grade (W-grade) export specifications automatically, sorting by colour where size grading cannot. Sensitivity and throughput are configurable, and it integrates with the kernel grading machine.
Technical specifications
| Function | Optical colour sorting |
|---|---|
| Sensor | High-resolution CCD |
| Ejection | Compressed-air nozzles |
| Removes | Scorched, spotted, dark, FM |
| Throughput | Configurable |
| Control | Touchscreen sensitivity |
| Build | Steel frame + optics chamber |
Figures are typical and configurable — we confirm exact specifications against your capacity and grade targets.
What optical sorting catches that people miss
CCD optical sorting
High-resolution cameras catch every off-colour and foreign kernel.
High-speed ejection
Air nozzles reject flagged kernels at line speed without slowing throughput.
Holds white-grade spec
Automatically meets strict export colour specifications.
Grader-integrated
Works with the size grader as one grading-and-sorting stage.
Model & capacity comparison
Every model TTQ builds for this stage, side by side. Pick by throughput and footprint — each links straight to a quote.
Optical colour sorters — models
Camera-based sorting that separates kernels by colour class and removes defects at high speed.
Specifications are indicative and configurable; TTQ confirms exact figures against your capacity, grade targets and factory layout. Model codes shown are TTQ quotation references.
A colour sorter is the last line of defence before packing, and for export-grade cashews it has stopped being optional. It finds what a tired human eye misses at speed: insect damage, discoloration, scorching and foreign material. What it buys is not just fewer defects but consistency — the same standard at the end of a shift as at the start.
How it works
High-resolution cameras
capture detailed images of each kernel in flight, from multiple angles on multi-channel machines, so a defect on the underside is not missed.
Classification algorithms
images are compared against learned profiles of acceptable and defective kernels, covering hue, shape and size rather than colour alone.
Control software
the operating brain, holding recipes per grade and per customer specification, and letting you tighten or loosen tolerance without re-engineering anything.
High-speed air ejection
precisely timed air jets knock rejected kernels out of the stream in milliseconds, with minimal good product carried out alongside.
What it changes
Throughput
manual sorting is slow and it is the stage that caps a line most often. A sorter removes that ceiling.
Consistency
human sorting varies with fatigue, lighting and individual judgement. A machine applies the same threshold at hour eight as at hour one.
Labour cost
a sorter typically displaces the largest manual headcount in a plant after shelling.
Food safety
reliable detection and removal of foreign material and damaged kernels, which is what export buyers audit against.
Traceability
modern machines log what they rejected and why, giving data for both process improvement and customer documentation.
Why it enables growth, not just quality
Higher volumes
processing more in less time without a proportional increase in staff.
New markets
consistent quality and documented food-safety compliance are entry requirements for many export buyers, not preferences.
Competitiveness
lower cost per kilogram at higher and steadier grade quality.
Integration
sorters are designed to sit in an automated line, feeding directly from grading into packing without a manual buffer.
Getting good results
Feed a single grade at a time
mixed sizes force a compromise threshold that is wrong for both.
Set tolerance to the customer, not to the maximum
over-tight rejection carries good kernels out with the bad, and that loss is invisible unless you weigh the reject stream.
Check the reject stream daily
it is the fastest diagnostic you have. A reject bin full of acceptable kernels means the threshold is wrong.
Keep optics clean
dust on a lens degrades accuracy gradually, which is exactly the failure mode nobody notices.
Recirculate borderline output
a second pass recovers good kernels from the reject stream more cheaply than loosening the threshold.
A colour sorter works on peeled, graded kernels — it is a finishing stage, not a substitute for good shelling and peeling. Defects it removes were mostly created upstream; a plant with 20% breakage does not solve that with optics. See grading machine for the stage before and vacuum packing for the stage after.
The process, drawn
Grading is two machines, not one
"Cashew grading machine" is used for both, and they do different jobs at very different speeds.
- 12 axes 150–180 kg/h
- 18 axes 210–270 kg/h
- 24 axes 280–360 kg/h
- 36 axes 420–540 kg/h The TTQ ceiling
- Chute type 500–1,000 kg/h 6SXZ-63HL, 0.8 kW
- Belt type 1–3 t/h 18 cameras, 252 channels
- Large optical up to 4 t/h
Export lines normally run both: the roller grader sets the size class, the colour sorter enforces the white-grade specification. The sorter is roughly ten times faster, so one sorter serves several graders.
Where it fits in the process
Works within the grading & sorting stage — after size grading, colour sorting removes off-colour kernels to meet export specs before packing.
Cashew Color Sorter — FAQ
What does a cashew color sorter remove?
How is it different from the grading machine?
Can sensitivity be adjusted?
Pairs well with
Cashew Grading & Sorting Machine
W180 to W450, sorted by size and colour
Open →
Cashew Vacuum Packing Machine
Nitrogen-flush, export shelf life
Open →
Cashew Metal Detector
Catch metal before it ships
Open →Cashew Grades Explained (W180 to W450)
What the W-number really means
Open →
Quality & Certification for Cashew Nuts
Export cashew kernels are expected to meet food-safety and quality standards — HACCP, ISO 22000, grade specs and, for some markets, organic or fair-trade certification.
Open →Get a quote on the Cashew Color Sorter
Tell us your target capacity and grades. We'll come back with the right configuration, a layout and a costed proposal.