Sorting through sortation system options

At the heart of any material handling process is a sortation system. These systems provide automatic product identification and separation into predefined groupings. 

There are many applications where these systems are a fit, including order consolidation and repack operations; shipping deconsolidation and redistribution; distribution route/carrier separation; carton cross-docking; centralized palletizing; and parallel processing product separation.

There are also many sortation technologies available:

Right angle belt – Ideal for gentle, low- to moderate-rate, right-angle sortation, used in conjunction with line-shaft technology. 

Pop-up wheel – Ideal for sortation from a line-shaft conveyor in applications where product orientation must be maintained.

Narrow belt – Some are ideal for the key middle range of sortation throughput where product orientation must be maintained, while others are designed for systems where change in orientation is beneficial, space is limited, and relatively high throughput is required. Others feature right-angle sortation of small products, either in one direction or left and right.

Shoe sorter – Ideal for a plants or distribution centres where high throughput is required and product orientation must be maintained. 

These are just some of the technologies, but there are many more. When selecting which one is right for your application, consider the product characteristics of what’s being sorted, the throughput needed, the number of diverts, floor space, justification and budget.

If you’re looking for guidance, Mississauga, Ont.-based Wecon Systems provides industry experience to analyze and select the best sorter technology for your specific application, and integrate all the associated elements. The company can also project manage, design, install and commission the total system, as well as train, service and upgrade to retain investment value.

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