High-Speed Product Sorter Conveyor System for Footwear Supplier
Case Studies
A colossal conveyor challenge
PJP were tasked with the design, build, installation and commissioning of a high-speed sortation solution. This ended up being part of one of the largest conveyor systems we’ve ever supplied!
The remit was to sort shoe boxes into 102 destinations. This needed to support a pick process spread over a three-level warehouse that used thirty pickers. The pick process and transport conveyors (also supplied and installed by PJP) can output a shoe box at a rate of one per second. This meant the sortation solution needed to keep up with this extremely quick rate. No pressure then…
Identifying the best components for the conveyor system
PJP compared many bi-directional product transfer units. Following various tests and consultations, we selected the Itoh Denki ‘F-Rat’ 24v transfer unit. It’s low noise, efficient transfer, high speed 24v technology and low maintenance were winning factors. The units also allow product separation and give a zero-line pressure feature for complete stability and accuracy. This is essential when handling a huge range of box sizes from 150mm x 150mm up to 600mm x 600mm at high speeds.
The conveyor system solution
We installed barcode readers into areas that could identify the individual boxes in the conveyor system. They did this by looking up the product and matching it to the relevant order. This scan result then instructed the system on where to send each shoebox to.
We decided to create two sorters. The first sorter having sixty-six destination lanes and the other thirty-six.
These sorters have enabled our client to automatically sort up to 3,600 individual shoe boxes per hour. This gets them safely to 102 locations. There is zero manual intervention or product handling from staff.
This is a staggering cost and labour saving vs manual sortation methods and is a prime example of what a conveyor system can achieve.
Need to sort products in a better or faster way?
PJP can offer a huge range of product sortation options as part of our conveyor system solutions, please contact us for more information.
