March/April 2003

A high-speed sortation system seen as ideally suited to the e-fulfilment market has been launched by Vanderlande Industries UK.

The new Crossorter can handle and sort small and "difficult" goods such as bottles and CDs without extra handling or additional bulky packaging, the company says, yet it can also handle 600mm totes and other larger items up weighing to 10kg. Vanderlande claims this makes it the most flexible loop sortation system available anywhere.

 

E-business has introduced new problems for the world of handling, according to Vanderlande UK managing director David Hyslop. "One of the most challenging requirements is the very low orders sizes," he says. "Typically the job can involve just a single item such as a CD or a bottle of perfume."

He points out that the traditional way of handling small items is to place them in totes, but says this increases labour costs and involves investment in the totes, and usually also requires protective impact-absorbing wrapping.

The Crossorter avoids these problems by transporting each item on an individual section of belt conveyor, operating at 90 deg to the direction of travel along the sorter. The conveyor forms a tray with rigid sides integrated into the belt, and this helps contain the goods. Product can still be diverted into spurs where necessary.

Drive is provided by quiet, linear induction motors with low friction and few moving parts.

The system can handle items as small as 3mm by 50mm by 80mm (half the size of a standard CD), the company says. Yet if two belts without "upstands" are coupled together, they can handle items up to 600mm by 400mm by 400mm. It runs at speeds up to an industry-leading 27,000 items and hour.