Solution Overview
Revolutionizing Unit and Parcel Sortation
t-Sort is a game-changing unit and parcel sortation system that performs much like a tilt tray or crossbelt sorter without a fixed track, allowing independent robots to travel freely to any divert or induction station along the shortest path, greatly enhancing efficiency and maximizing operational capabilities. Unlike traditional sortation systems that require a large upfront investment and have excess capacity that may be underutilized for years, the t-Sort system is fully modular and allows robots, chutes or induction stations to be added or removed instantaneously without any interruption or downtime. A typical installation takes five to seven months to go live, and the completely portable system can be relocated to another nearby location overnight, providing an added level of versatility.
Advantages
- Maximum efficiency – Robot navigation via real-time control to ensure movement along the most efficient path.
- Space utilization – Requires 25 percent or less space when compared to traditional sortation systems.
- Labor productivity – High sort density in compact space results in larger batches for greater picking efficiency and productivity.
- Complete modularity – Robots can be easily added at any time to increase throughput and all system components are modular for simple expansion and reconfiguration.
- Ultimate flexibility – Unit and parcel sortation can be used separately or simultaneously, and the system is fully portable, configurable and scalable with no fixed infrastructure or permitting.
- Lower capital investment – Robots cost 40 to 50 percent less than a traditional tilt tray or crossbelt system and can be purchased and installed as needed to postpone investment and enable complete utilization of the asset.
- High capacity – Multi-level design can more than double the volume, sort points and capacity in a single footprint.
- Faster startups – Implementation is typically ½ the lead time for traditional fixed track systems.
- Higher ROI – Lower investment, shorter lead times, faster implementation, reduced space, lower headcount, and incremental expansion/capital expenditures – all drive greater than 2X increase in ROI.
- Redundancy & risk mitigation – No single point of failure anywhere in the system. The system has mirrored servers, redundant infrastructure and an uninterruptable power supply backup.
Robotics Range of Capabilities
-
Wide Range of Unit Handling – The variety of unit loads t-Sort can process is much broader than traditional sortation systems. This includes apparel, shoe boxes, general merchandise, shipping bags, small-to-medium boxes and a wide range of additional products. t-Sort offers multiple tray and crossbelt designs, optimized for different products, that can be easily changed. t-Sort can handle anything traditional unit sorters process and more.
- t-Sort can process delicate, cylindrical, round, extremely light, liquid, static prone, and other difficult items for tilt tray, crossbelt and bomb bay sorters. t-Sort is even capable of sorting glass containers and other fragile, breakable items.
- The items found in a retail store can be sorted in a special store-based mode for buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) and local e-commerce orders. Most grocery and retail merchandise items are sortable with t-Sort.
- Wide Range of Sortation Destination – As each robot makes a complete stop at the sort destination, t-Sort can perform a positive and accurate sort to a variety of destinations, including shipping cartons, totes, gravity conveyor lines, chutes, bags, and gaylords. Additionally, the destination receptacle/accumulation device and system configuration can be customized to a client’s specific requirements to ensure the design best fits the application.
- Ease of Configuration and Expansion – All components are modular, allowing the system to grow and increase its operational functionality as needed. This includes easily expanding the number of robots, sort points and induction stations, and reconfiguring the system size, shape and sort functions.
In response to COVID-19 and limiting travel, Tompkins Robotics is now offering interactive virtual tours using a variety of stationary and roaming cameras throughout the facility. We have the capability to demonstrate five t-Sort systems with various configurations, robots and functionalities. The main demonstration system includes three different induction types: manual, robotic and A-frame. Our systems are capable of e-commerce order fulfillment, store replenishment, backroom and parcel / postal sortation. We can demonstrate the original t-Sort robotic system in multiple dual level configurations and an elevator system to move robots between the levels. Our larger t-Sort Plus robots run on single level systems with both tilt tray and crossbelt options. In the very near future we will demonstrate the new t-Sort Mini in an additional system. We have a wide variety of inventory to demonstrate products including general merchandise, apparel, grocery, fragile goods, odd sizes and shapes and a wide range of product weights. You will also have a chance to learn about the technologies that are integrated into our system such as automated induction, automated charging, integrated weight and dimension capture, our proprietary wireless network and Warehouse Execution System (WES), new innovations such as our automated sorter exit solution and more. And if mobility and flexibility are important to you, we can demonstrate how easy it is to reconfigure a system, remove or add a sort table, and even fold a table into a smaller footprint for move or transport.
