CONVEYOR BELT SORTING SYSTEM USING PLC

CONVEYOR BELT SORTING SYSTEM USING PLC

Modern manufacturing requires flexible automation capable of handling mixed-product lines without mechanical changeover. This system integrates an industrial PLC with a machine vision camera to perform real-time object recognition and pneumatic sorting. The camera captures images of items on a conveyor belt, and a PC-based vision library classifies objects by shape, color, or printed markings. Classification results are communicated to the PLC via EtherNet/IP or Modbus TCP, which triggers pneumatic actuators to divert items into appropriate collection bins. The PLC ladder logic handles conveyor motor control, sensor I/O, safety interlocks, and fault diagnostics. The project demonstrates the synergy between information technology and operational technology layers in Industry 4.0 architectures.

Components

PLC Controller
Conveyor Belt & DC Motor
TCS3200 Color Sensor
Pneumatic Cylinders/Solenoids
IR Proximity Sensors

Components	Hexkart	Flipkart
PLC Controller	Buy Now	Buy Now
Conveyor Belt & DC Motor	Buy Now	Buy Now
TCS3200 Color Sensor	Buy Now	Buy Now
Pneumatic Cylinders/Solenoids	Buy Now	Buy Now
IR Proximity Sensors	Buy Now	Buy Now

Object Identification

Sensors along conveyor: color sensors for color, IR/proximity for size/height, inductive/capacitive for metal vs non-metal.

PLC Role

Receives sensor inputs, executes ladder logic, controls actuators to divert objects into appropriate bins.

Throughput

0.5 m/s conveyor speed with 20cm object spacing sorts 30-40 objects per minute.