IN Brief:
- Multiscan MXV-Bulk uses internal-density analysis to identify empty shells, insect damage, internal mould, and insufficient kernel fill.
- It also rejects dense foreign material including stone, glass, ceramic, and embedded metal using automated air valves.
- The equipment is designed to complement optical sorting and aspiration rather than replace existing separation stages.
WECO has launched an X-ray inspection system for in-shell nuts that uses internal-density analysis to identify poorly filled product, concealed defects, and dense foreign material before nuts reach final grading and packing.
The Multiscan MXV-Bulk is designed for products including pecans, walnuts, pistachios, and peanuts. It detects defects that may show no obvious external sign, including empty shells, insect damage, internal mould, and insufficient kernel fill.
It can also identify dense foreign material including stones, glass, ceramics, and embedded metal. Once the inspection system identifies material outside the processor’s configured tolerance, air valves eject it from the product stream.
The equipment addresses a limitation of optical inspection on products whose most important quality characteristics can be hidden by an intact shell. Colour cameras and optical sorters are effective at identifying external differences in colour, shape, size, and surface condition, but they cannot determine how much edible kernel is present inside an apparently sound nut.
X-ray inspection adds a density measurement to that existing quality-control chain. The system can therefore distinguish between shells with an acceptable internal fill and those containing little usable kernel, while also looking for defects and contaminants that have a sufficiently different density from the product.
Nick Lightfoot, Vice President at WECO, said: “Nut processors have traditionally relied on optical inspection methods that cannot tell them what is happening inside the shell. While X-ray is broadly used in food processing, this is the first system of its kind to evaluate the internal quality of in-shell nuts in North America.”
MXV-Bulk is intended to operate alongside optical sorting, aspiration, and other separation equipment rather than replace those processes. Each stage works on a different physical property: optical sorters assess visible appearance, aspiration separates largely according to weight and aerodynamic behaviour, and X-ray adds information about internal density.
Combining the technologies allows processors to build a more layered inspection system. A nut can pass an external appearance check but still contain an internal defect, while a contaminant that resembles acceptable product visually may produce a very different X-ray response.
The equipment feeds nuts onto a belt designed to stabilise and distribute product before scanning. Images are captured as each object passes through the inspection zone, analysed against the configured thresholds, and linked to the rejection system when the product falls outside specification.
Operators set the acceptable density tolerance through the touchscreen. The system can also evaluate the fill within selected areas of individual nuts, allowing settings to be adapted for differences between varieties, product grades, and customer requirements.
That adjustability is important because a single threshold is unlikely to suit every nut crop. Natural products vary by variety, growing conditions, moisture, shell characteristics, and kernel development, so inspection sensitivity has to separate genuine defects without unnecessarily rejecting saleable product.
The commercial objective is therefore broader than contaminant detection. In-shell nuts are frequently valued according to kernel yield, meaning processors lose money when a shell that appears acceptable contains little edible material.
Removing underfilled nuts before packing can raise the average grade of finished product and improve the relationship between shipped weight and usable kernel. WECO says customers using the technology have substantially reduced their need for end-of-line manual inspection while increasing average grade.
Manual checking remains useful for some defects, but it becomes difficult to apply consistently at high line speeds. Operators also cannot see through an intact shell, leaving them dependent on external appearance or sample cracking where internal quality is the concern.
Automated X-ray changes that inspection point from a sampling exercise into an in-line measurement. Every product presented correctly to the scanner can be assessed according to the selected density criteria rather than relying on a small proportion of the batch being opened or examined separately.
The technology was developed through collaboration between WECO and Multiscan Technologies, both operating companies within Duravant. Multiscan contributed X-ray expertise, while WECO brought its existing experience in nut sorting, drying, and moisture monitoring.
That combination is reflected in the system’s intended use as part of a wider processing line. Detection equipment has to match product flow, rejection timing, sanitation, maintenance, controls, and upstream presentation if it is to improve real production performance rather than simply produce good inspection results in isolation.
X-ray equipment also requires validation. Processors need to establish what the system can reliably detect, how sensitivity changes with product loading, and whether the rejection mechanism consistently removes identified defects without losing excessive good product.
MXV-Bulk is available for sale worldwide, with leasing offered in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. WECO is also providing installation, start-up, preventive maintenance, upgrades, and emergency support.
The launch moves automated nut inspection beyond what can be seen on the shell. For processors selling product on both safety and kernel yield, that brings a previously hidden quality characteristic into the same continuous inspection environment as colour, size, and external defects.