Small object counting apparatus

Small objects, such as pharmaceutical capsules from a production stream, are counted with speed and accuracy. The objects are delivered to a hopper from which they are picked up by a rotating suction drum and transported through an orientation means to an object pick-off or drum stripping means. Following separation from the drum, the objects pass sequentially through an electro-optical sensing device which delivers electrical pulses to an electronic counter means which has the ability to display both count and rate of count. The counted objects are delivered to a suitable batch container.