High-Throughput, High-Accuracy Sortation - TrewSort™ Line Sorter

There are a number of factors that go into designing the right solution such as the type of items being handled, how items are packaged, product flow to the sorter, method of inducting items to the sorter, ability to take items away from the sorter, not to mention the sorter technology capabilities. When applied correctly, sortation unlocks operational capacity and efficiency, if not it can become a capacity restraint impacting operational flow throughout the entire operation.

According to a U.S. Census Bureau report, at an estimated $1,118.7 billion last year, U.S. e-commerce was 15.4% of overall retail and continues to outpace traditional retail growth. In fact, e-commerce was up 7.6% year-over-year versus just 2.1% for retail.¹

This growth has transformed operations, especially when combined with various marketplace and supply chain headwinds. Some warehouse experts have designated 2024 as “The Year of the Brownfield Warehouse”² where companies leverage existing space to mitigate the costs, timing, and complexities of greenfield construction. Brownfield investments present their own challenges as companies make changes to adapt to business, packaging, and operations while maintaining the highest levels of performance.

TrewSort™ sortation is designed with these and other major themes in mind. The design leverages years of experience with sortation in warehouse and fulfillment operations and meeting their ever-changing needs and complexity. In this blog we will discuss characteristics of sortation that unlock operational capacity and confidence.

Optimized for Fulfillment Operations, Now and Next - Throughput and Gentle Handling Built-In

It’s no secret that fulfillment centers deal with a wide range of package types and high-throughput demands to meet shipping cutoff times. It’s not enough to just build a system that can manage the current variety of products to be handled as packaging types and dimensions will continue to evolve in the future. The highly flexible TrewSort system was designed for now, and what may come next.

For example, the TrewSort system is capable of handling cartons, totes, jiffys, and polybags and accommodates packages as small as a typical cell phone (6" x 2" x 0.22”). The system can easily adapt to ongoing dimensional and weight changes due to its design. The design also accounts for high-density flow with small gaps between long, wide, and short/tall products.

How? Watch this video and read on...

Handling a variety of sizes and types of packages is one thing. Handling them gently is something altogether different. TrewSort is designed for that challenge. Innovative TrewSort divert shoe designs feature energy-absorbing faces with features to cradle the conveyed item and deliver a gentle divert that eliminates traditional product pinch points. The shoe elements are designed with impact-absorbing materials, angled contact pads, and a sloped back. They are complemented by durable, low-wear transition strips and maintained product orientation divert profile to smooth transition off the sorter and keep product from turning and jamming.

Organizations must be able to flex to changing business dynamics including growth, business acquisitions, product changes, the impact of innovation, and more. That’s why the TrewSort Sliding Shoe Sorter was built to be the most modular system on the market. TrewSort allows customers to invest in solutions today that can adapt to their future business, because of the inherent design of the sorter in how it handles products and allows for expansion. 

With modularity comes approachability. The sorter is designed with three major modules: induction, intermediates, and discharge. By reducing the number of unique bed assemblies, Trew can optimize operational efficiency and get equipment onsite faster and more consistently. The design allows for an approach that takes traditional engineering application design work out of the equation and replaces it with a modular approach that installs to match the facility. What does that mean? TrewSort features three intermediate length options that allow the exact divert location to be easily placed and aligned to match the building. 

How? Watch this video and read on... 

Instead of locking customers into an engineered design that may or may not fit the long-term warehouse blueprint, TrewSort diverts can be added, removed and adjusted to expand shipping capacity and fit the building layout. Future divert destinations do not need to be pre-engineered. This reduces early-stage capital requirements and enables organizations to evolve or change their sortation system at the same speed as their business. 

Supply chain and logistics disruptions have been factored into the design as well. The TrewSort modular approach extends beyond mechanical design to electronics and controls design. The all electrical modular Divert Control components fit up with the physical sorter and can be field adjusted seamlessly with the ease and simplicity aided by connectorized components.  Non-proprietary Divert Control Modules (DCM) and Debris Detection Modules are incorporated for these critical items to cut down on lead times and supply chain risks for custom electronics that can often be hard-to-procure. 

Almost infinitely adjustable divert switch locations allows business to grow and change

Plan for the Future. Operate Brilliantly in the Moment. 

Modularity allows Trew and clients to move at the speed that business needs to operate with confidence knowing the sortation system can be delivered on time, will fit operations, is supportable for the long haul, and can adapt in the future. 

TrewSort is packed with forward-thinking features like: 

• Almost infinitely adjustable divert switch locations 
• Modular machine sections 
• Modular expandable all-electrical design
• Adjustable after-sort lane connections
  
  

Many modern warehouses run sortation 20 or more hours a day. This continuous high-speed operation demands exceptional durability because any failure or breakdown in the main sortation line can stop the entire order fulfillment process and negatively impact productivity, efficiency, and profitability.

What good is it to have a flexible system that works well at moderate speeds but struggles with higher loads? What happens when product and package needs change? How easy is it to repair or replace components? Doesn’t reliability really mean operational run time and delivering successfully diverted packages without jams?

These questions and more were important to the development of the TrewSort, with the team focused on delivering worldclass throughput, uptime and reliable while simplifying the design.

As a result, the team focused on design for durability in areas known to cause frustrations for high-speed operators such as life-span challenges with chains, bearings, shoes, debris detection, product catch points, over-feeding aftersorts, and component replacement and repair.

Uncomplicating the System Design 

High performance doesn’t have to mean an overly complicated design.  A classic approach is to start with the end in mind. In this case, that meant not just focusing on unlocking speed, but focusing on elements that create great product handling, robustness and longevity.  That includes addressing issues like shoe wear, potential to damage actuators and key components, pin breakage so they do not feel continual product weight impact, and snags and catch points that can damage product and cause jams.

• Elegant mechanical design and controls allow for maintained orientation of product during diverts and prevention of over-feeding and jamming aftersort lanes.
• Pusher elements (shoes) have bearings that contact packages such that the bearing takes product impact and load instead of guidance pins, protecting the sorter from damage seen with other designs.
• Slat gaps and transitions are minimized to reduce the opportunity for debris to fall into the sorter and affect operations.
• Sloped shoe profile and a grippy face provide a reliable product interface that prevents jams and product damage, packaged in an easy quick replacement slat assembly.  

Easy maintenance access with quick replacement parts so operations can focus on operations.  

TrewSort was designed for modularity, durability, and reliability in high-throughput warehouse operations through the combination of design, mechanics, and controls; but it's the brains, or AI, inside that makes the sortation something unique. AI is discussed for all kinds of applications, yet it is often unclear how AI is used and how it will deliver a result that helps your operation. The TrewSort approach is a pragmatic application of AI, embedding it in the actuation devices resulting in reliability and accuracy you can trust. Why? 

Consider the self-learning actuators: 

• Smart and getting smarter: TrewSort utilizes high-performance, self-learning actuators that couple mechanical and control designs to deliver high-rate, accurate, and reliable sortation of cartons, parcels, totes, polybags and other items. The system is designed to work “out of the box”, get smarter and continually improve its operation over time. 
   
  It's like an autonomous vehicle’s system constantly monitoring road, weather, and traffic conditions so it can optimize the performance and navigation of the car. In the case of TrewSort, the AI is monitoring a wide range of inputs to maintain and improve efficiency and effective handling of packages an ever-growing range of product sizes, weights, materials, and types. Operations can be rest assured knowing the TrewSort will adjust and deliver the highest levels of throughput and accuracy possible.
  

• Preventive maintenance awareness: Both operations and maintenance will appreciate the benefits of AI-inside. TrewSort monitors itself for performance and wear and tear, with the intelligent, self-healing actuators automatically adjusting to keep operations on track and notifying maintenance teams when service “is needed soon” based on its learnings. This allows the operations team to focus on operations, and the maintenance team to stay many steps ahead of the game. 

• Prepped and ready: AI uses data collection over time to learn how to make decisions. In an application of AI like this, it needs to be prepped for effective action immediately. If an actuator needs to be replaced, the system provides escalating “service soon” notifications. When replacing the actuator, easy-access panels make the physical change quick. Because the devices are educated and pre-qualified for operation from the factory, they do not require calibration or training at the time of replacement. 

Fulfillment and warehouse automation depends on adaptability, intelligence, and reliability to meet the throughput and demands that are the cornerstones of successful operations. 

By combining modular design, durability, and AI-driven intelligence, TrewSort offers a solution that can adapt to the ever-changing demands of warehouse, parcels, e-commerce, and retail fulfillment. As businesses continue to navigate the challenges of growth and supply chain changes, TrewSort can play a crucial role in maintaining operational efficiency and competitiveness. The future of warehouse sortation is here, and it’s smarter, more flexible, and more reliable than ever before.