Does anyone here know how this works?

http://copperpennysorter.com/Copper-Penny-Sorter-Silver-Sorter-CoinAlyzer-FREE-Shipping-FULL.htm

Thanks.

 

Magnetic field induces current in copper/silver, altering path of coin.

Not enough current induced in zinc to alter path.

Link for one not much for detail. These are in vending machines as well for finding slugs.

 

Zinc is lighter than copper. Maybe it weighs them ?

 

I read somewhere they recognize coins by the speed they are falling (with two light barriers. The speed is determined by the braking force through a magnetic field... much like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrw-i5Ku0mI

Don't know if your specific device works like this too.

 

Zinc is lighter than copper. Maybe it weighs them ?

Some sorters work on this principle, but it is VERY slow compared to the magnetic test. 1 penny every other second since the scale/balance takes time to move/reset, vs several pennies per second by slightly altering path or measuring timing.

--ETA: European patent on sorting coins with magnetics.

 

I set up a Hall effect sensor and positioned a magnet where it just triggered the sensor. Then I placed a silver quarter between the magnet and the sensor, followed by a zinc quarter, in the hope that one would block the magnetic field more than the other. It didn't work.

 

Penny Sorting Describes a method using the speed difference in a aluminum channel with magnets to sort copper pennies from zinc.

Video Demo

The main limitation of this technique is the speed at which you can sort pennies. If you drop a copper penny down the shoot closely followed by a zinc penny there is a chance the zinc penny will bump into the copper penny. One way around this problem is to use an alternating magnetic field. An AC magnetic field will repel a conductor. If you attach a coil to a 60 Hz AC power supply the coil will push the conductor away from it. I have used this effect to levitate aluminum plates. I have not attempted this with pennies yet, but the idea is to simply drop pennies from a hopper above an AC electromagnet. As the pennies fall through the AC magnetic field they should be kicked away. Copper pennies would be pushed farther away than zinc pennies. A fence below the electromagnet can be used to direct copper and zinc pennies into different hoppers.