About second-hand Eggplant sorting machines

When selecting a used eggplant grading machine, it is important to remember that eggplants are fragile. Therefore, it is important to limit the fall height. Eggplants often need to be manually transferred from crates to grading machine cups. 

Eggplants are generally sorted by weight. Eggplant sorting machines are equipped with load cells under the cups that can weigh the eggplants with an accuracy margin of approximately 2 grams. Some sorting machines also have a camera system for sorting by size.

Difference between eggplant and cucumber graders

Eggplant graders and cucumber graders look very much alike, yet they differ in the following details. This is mainly because eggplants are more fragile than cucumbers. 

• Manual feed: Eggplants are placed in the grading machine cups manually. Cucumbers, on the other hand, are fed onto the sorting machine automatically by a feed belt.
• Accumulation belts: Eggplant grading machines are equipped with conveyor belts that move in steps, instead of rotating tables. This prevents the eggplants from colliding, thus reducing the risk of damage. 

Although grading machines for cucumbers and eggplants differ in some respects, both machines can also grade other products such as courgettes, pointy sweet peppers, squash and/or sweet potatoes.

Eggplant feeding system

The eggplant grading line can be complemented by a system that feeds the aubergines into the grading machine. This system ensures that crates of eggplants supplied from harvest carts or pallets arrive at the grading machine unstacked via conveyor belts and/or roller conveyors. As a result, workers at the feeder side of the grading machine have a continuous flow of full crates of eggplants to fill the grading machine cups with. Some of these systems also return the empty crates immediately and fill the harvesting carts and pallets with empty crates. Supply and discharge systems like these are made by Taks, Bogaerts, Koat and Buitendijk Slaman.

Semi-automatic weighing

Some grading machines are equipped with a large number of outputs. Many of these machines can weigh boxes of eggplants semi-automatically on the grading machine. The machine’s computer remembers the weight of each eggplant, which enables it to calculate how many eggplants are needed to fill a box of a particular weight. The eggplants are collected on a buffer belt in front of the packaging table. As a result, the worker at the packaging table can work faster because he/she no longer needs to take the weight of each box into account.

Complementing the sorting line with palletizers

Eggplant sorting machines can be equipped with a palletizer for the output of full boxes and crates. The boxes are transported from the grader to the palletizer via a conveyor belt. The palletizer stacks the boxes of eggplants onto pallets fully automatically.

Manufacturers of eggplant graders are Aweta and Greefa. You will find an overview of the used eggplant grading machines currently offered for sale on this page. If you have any questions about these machines, we will be happy to answer them.