MSS Unveils New Optical Fiber Sorting Technology

MSS Inc., the optical sorter division of the CP Group, is introducing its next generation fiber sorting technology, the CIRRUS FiberMax.

Based on the CIRRUS sensor platform, the FiberMax provides increased sorting speeds, sensing capability and operating flexibility.

The conveyor belt of the CIRRUS FiberMax runs at twice the speed of conventional optical sorters, according to CP Group, and a proprietary air-assist and material handling system keeps the paper moving through the sensing zone in a laminar flow without turbulence. It sorts paper 40 times faster than manual sorting thanks to belt speeds of 1,000 feet per minute.

CIRRUS FiberMax sorters are equipped with an intuitive learning algorithm that adapts to changes in the material stream. An automated software assistant speeds up the programming of different or new types of contaminants and automates the fine-tuning of the sort recipe.

CP Group says the CIRRUS FiberMax generates a higher purity paper grade for better marketability. In one recent installation, the system decreased the level of prohibitives in a residential mixed paper stream from about 10 percent to less than 3 percent consistently. Additionally, it reduced the sorter head count by 12.

The CIRRUS FiberMax comes with a variety of upgrades, one of them being an integrated vacuum suction system to remove ultra light flexible packaging such as film and bags during the ejection process right inside the eject hood. It can also be built to custom width, up to 112"/2800mm wide.

The FiberMax is currently running in both commercial paper recycling operations (recovering mixed paper and sorted office paper), and residential fiber operations (removing prohibitives and outthrows from newspaper and mixed paper). In both applications it is exceeding expectations.

“This is a very exciting next step for the CIRRUS technology,” MSS Vice President Greg Thibado said in a statement. “The CIRRUS FiberMax further improves on the already high NIR, color, and metal scan rates and is running at faster belt speeds than ever before. These improvements future-proof the CIRRUS FiberMax against any foreseeable changes in the material stream processed by MRFs and paper sorting facilities."