Almond Huller & Sheller Facility

Project Details

  • Firebaugh, CA
  • Agricultural
  • January 2008
  • Sierra Valley Almond Huller

iCAD redesigned the Panoche Cotton Gin into a state-of-the-art almond hulling and shelling facility capable of processing over 15,000 meat pounds/hour of almonds.

Project Overview

iCAD provided the PLC and HMI programming, process flow and P&ID documentation, control system engineering, Motor Control Center, enclosure layouts and electrical design schematics, and control panels. At this facility, the almonds are cleaned, hulled, shelled and classified before being shipped to other company facilities for further processing.

The automation system consists of PLC and HMI packages controlling the cleaning operation and hulling-shelling-classification systems individually. The control system can be accessed from any of 4 distributed workstations or via wireless remote.

Benefits

After a complete overhaul, the old Panoche Cotton Gin became a state-of-the-art Almond Hulling and Shelling facility capable of processing 15,000 meat pounds per hour. Thus, it is one of the largest shelling facilities on the West Coast. The new communications system allows this facility to be remotely monitored and operated from any computer with an internet connection.

Technologies Used