Page 3
www.vaki.is
PPRREEFFAAC
CEE –– SSm
maarrttFFlloow
w
Grading live fish is a fairly hard and complicated process. The system normally
consists of three to four grades where the operator can dynamically adjust the grades
on the fly. The system falls under the category of a multi input, multi output system
(MIMO). The system is operated by two to four persons at a time and it is sensitive to
any changes, a small change to the input can cause a dramatic change in the output
and it’s not uncommon that 100 of
thousands
of fish are graded in one session
and
t
he
size range varies from few grams
to a few
hundred grams.
All these factors contribute in making the system fairly complicated and hard to tune
and more often than not results in
an unsatisfactory
output. It requires a lot of
knowledge about the system and a lot of practice to obtain a reasonable result.
SmartFlow connects all the devices used for grading fish in a hatchery to allow for an
automatic grading. SmartFlow is a control system that optimizes the grading process
by controlling the entire process. With SmartFlow you only need one person to
operate the whole system with fundamental knowledge of grading. You can control all
aspects of the grading from
within SmartFlow. Enter in your desired output and the
system takes care of the rest.
Set up
When setting up SmartFlow the following
system configuration is
required
:
●
A VAKI counter (Micro/Macro/EXEL).
●
A VAKI Smart
G
rader
●
A VAKI pump
●
A VAKI density controller
●
SmartFlow configured and running on
the
counter.
PICO Counter Manual
Page 4
www.vaki.is
VAKI Smart Grader
The Smart Grader delivers accurate fish grading while minimizing the impact on your
fish as they pass through the outlets. The dewatering unit distributes the fish evenly
over the width of the grader, so all 10 tracks are used effectively.
Further the inclination of the main sorting unit can be adjusted from 5-14° with an
electric actuator. The opening of the grader is controlled with electric linear actuators
that can be manually operated from a control panel on the grader or automatically
from the VAKI Counter which counts, size measures and calculates the split between
the grades. The opening for each grade is displayed on a digital display. The grader is
built in high grade stainless steel 316L and selected plastic materials that are corrosion
and water resistant.
The rollers are machined with high precision laser welding tools and balanced out with
specialized equipment. It delivers an accurate grading of the fish. The outlets are
designed to minimize the impact on the fish and can be mounted to deliver the fish on
either side of the grader. These outlets can easily be removed for cleaning. The
rotation speed of the rollers can be adjusted with a frequency controller.
The grader functions by sliding the fish between two rolls, where the distance
between them gradually widens. Where two pairs of rollers rotate away from each
other to make sure that the fish doesn’t get squeezed between the rollers, but instead
lifted up and pushed forward so they fall through in the correct place. The expansion
of the slits on both ends can be adjusted. When operating the grader you have to
keep in mind that the grades are all related to one another. One single grader gap
PICO Counter Manual
Page 12 www.vaki.is
Page 13
www.vaki.is
PICO Counter Manual
Page 14 | 25
2.2.3.4 Visibility
Represents the light intensity recorded by the camera.
An optimal visibility curve is square shaped with a light
intensity @ 200 or above.
2.2.3.5 Information
Technical information about the counter. In the
information field, it is important to note the
Scan rate
–
it shows how many scans the camera performs each
second. This value should be ~ 2250.
2.2.4 Counter capacity
The maximum counter capacity is shown at any given moment on the throughput graph (Ref. 2.2.3.1).
It is in direct relation to the fish size. The smaller the fish the higher the counting capacity. During
counting the counter will note the average size of the fish going through and adjust the maximum
capacity.
Figure 4: Counter capacity example
The capacity is an important factor for counting accurately. The capacity indicator at the top of the
counter software will display a green progress bar. when counting below the maximum counter
capacity. When the counter is reaching its upper limit, it will turn yellow and eventually red as
represented in the figure. Continuing a count for extended periods at red capacity can result in a
miscount. This will be discussed in more detail in the chapter
Getting the best results
.
PICO Counter Manual
Page 15 | 25
2.2.5 Settings
In the “Settings” you can change the operating
language, name of the counter and the
sensitivity of the counter. The most important
factor is the
sensitivity
. The sensitivity controls
how sensitive the counter is to light. The more
sensitive it is the more likely it is to see small
and transparent objects, like juvenile eels and
shrimp. The downside to a high sensitivity is
that the counter is more likely to count bubbles
and small debris in the water. To avoid this the
operator has to be more careful when counting.
In the “
Folders
” tab the name of the
operator/company and a logo can be set. This
information is displayed on all reports generated
by the counter.
