Sortation Systems

Many operations require sort rates less than 30 items per minute. Tote systems, smaller case distribution operations, service parts centers and many other operations require cost effective low rate sortation technologies.

Diverter Arms. The most cost effective sortation devices available are diverter arms. Some are shaped like “baseball bats” and come across the conveyor to deflect products at an angle, 30° typically, onto a different conveyor. Other diverters are curved to divert to product onto a take away conveyor at 90° while maintaining product orientation. Diverter arms can be manually activated, or they can be controlled automatically with scanning technology.

Right Angle Transfers. A right angle transfer operates by engaging the bottom of a unit-load, lifting it off the transportation conveyor and transferring it onto another conveyor at a 90° angle. Transfers mechanisms can be chain transfers or belt transfers. Typical rates achieved are 8 – 20 sorts per minute depending on the size and stability of the product.

Pusher Diverters. Pushers are used to divert products at right angles at slightly higher rates than transfers. Comprised of either an electrically or pneumatically activated pusher, the device moves across the conveyor moving the product it contacts onto another conveyor at a 90° angle. Typical rates will be in the 15 – 25 sorts per minute range.

Work Transporter. The work transporter is a good solution for work-in-process sortation. Totes or boxes are diverted to work stations set up alongside the conveyor and a return belt underneath conveys product out of the work station. Rates can be from 2-15 products per minute.

As distribution operations grow in size and complexity, sortation requirements generally expand. Medium rate sortation technologies are available when rates between 30 and 100 items per minute are requires to be sorter in a shipping/distribution operation.

Pop-Up Wheel Sorters. Pop-up wheel sorters can be utilized when rates are moderate and the product has a flat conveying surface. Products must be fairly uniform in size, as products that are too long or short will not divert consistently. Typical rates are 20-60 sorts per minute. Products are diverted at a 30° or 45° angle on relatively close centers allowing for compact location of divert lanes.

Mulitple Belt Sorters. The multiple belt sorter falls between the pop-up wheel and shoe sorters in both rate and cost. Capable of sort rates of up to 100 products per minute, the multiple belt sorter can sort at either 30° or 90° angles. 30° diverts are capable of higher rates, while 90° diverts allow for really close spacing of divert lanes to minimize floor space.

For distribution operations requiring over 100 cases sorted per minute, higher speed devices are required. Shoes sorters are most commonly used. Utilizing a series of tubes or slats with sliding shoes, these sorters provide positive sortation at rates up to and exceeding 200 cases per minute. Critical to achieving high sortation rates are systems to properly space cartons before inducting onto the sorter.

Case Induction. In high speed sortation systems, cases need to be properly gapped before being inducted into the sorter. Equipment can range from meter belts, to servo-induction conveyors, to multi-lane induction belts, depending on the rate.

Shoe Sorters. Capable of 200 sorts per minute, shoe sorters come in a variety of configurations. The sorters can be tube or slat, single sided diverts or dual diverts, 30° or 20° diverts. A careful analysis of the product and rates is required to provide the best solution.

In large-scale distribution markets where a significant amount of the overall volume is distributed by the piece, different types of sortation technology are required. Catalogue, apparel and shoe distribution are just a few markets that utilize high speed piece sortation equipment.

Carousel Put Systems. Carousel put systems work well when a fairly large number of SKUs need to be sorted to a large number of locations. Often used on retail distribution, carousel put systems can create an environment of one-touch sortation directly to the shipper, while also accommodating a very large number of shippers.

Carousel Sorter. Used for manual piece sortation directly to a shipping container, the carousel sorter works well on high volume skus. Accommodating up to 500 locations on a single sorter, the carousel sorter can sort up to 4000 pieces per hour per operator. The carousel sorter allows a flexible number of operators to man sort zones, allowing for total system rates to exceed 20,000 lines per hour for a single sorter. The equipment is inexpensive and simple, costing far less than other technologies.

A Frame Sorters. Utilized to facilitate the picking of small individual items, the A-frame is extremely popular with drug and pharmaceutical distribution facilities. As the name implies, individual items are loaded or stacked in two rows of dispensing magazines (one or more magazines per item) that are arranged side-by-side, forming an "A-frame". A belt conveyor passes through the long tunnel created by the A-frame. As orders are filled, one at a time, items automatically dispensed from the bottom of selected magazines are kicked onto the belt conveyor, and then they are carried to the end of the tunnel where they fall into a tote.

Tilt Tray Sorters. Tilt tray sorters are utilized to sort a wide variety of loads, including parcels and envelopes, totes, cartons, individual articles, poly bags, luggage and other items. Sorting rates over 10,000 units per hour are possible. Tilt-tray sorters are applied in many industries including general merchandise distribution, shoe and apparel distribution, specialty retail, catalog and direct sales operations, as well as parcel & freight operations and postal processing centers. Care must be taken with fragile products as tilt-tray sorters generally sort into chutes.

Cross Belt Sorters. Cross-belt sorters achieve higher rates than tilt-trays due to having powered conveyor belts on every carrier in the system. Achieving sort rates of over 20,000 pieces per hour, cross-belt sorters are used in many of the same markets as tilt-tray sorters.