MODEX 2024: OPEX unveils sortation system with packaging station
Sure Sort X with Xtract modules can fully automate small item sortation
Automated storage and sortation systems provider OPEX Corporation officially unveiled its newest automated sortation and order retrieval systems, Sure Sort X and Xtract, at MODEX 2024 in booth B6602.
The trade show is being held March 11-14 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, GA.
Sure Sort X will also make its European debut at the LogiMAT expo in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 19 at the OPEX exhibit in Hall 7, Stand 7D53.
Sure Sort X can handle items up to 20 pounds
OPEX said its Sure Sort X represents the next generation of high-speed, automated sorting. The universal system can handle nearly 100% of customer-sortable items weighing up to 20 pounds, and sort items into a configurable array of mixed bin sizes and types.
Developed based on feedback from the international business community, Sure Sort X applies OPEX’s Sure Sort goods-to-person technology, introduced in 2017.
OPEX said Sure Sort X is versatile and configurable. It can handle items 60% smaller, nearly 20% larger, and up to 300% heavier than its predecessor, all while maintaining a consistent throughput of up to 2,100 items per hour. In addition, Sure Sort X can operate in both chilled and ambient environments. Installation can occur in as little as one week.
The system’s iBOT autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) delivery vehicles use motion algorithms that allow them to maneuver throughout the system efficiently, with the ability to change destination in real time while in transit. The iBOTs can drive in and out of the system while Sure Sort X continues to run, ensuring uptime and availability.
Xtract modules and iBOT mobile robots automate outbound goods delivery
When Sure Sort X is paired with Xtract, OPEX’s new automated order retrieval system, the task of retrieving totes and transferring their contents into packaging for shipping can be fully automated. The result is a one-touch solution that can eliminate the need to manually sort and transfer boxes downstream.
“We have received feedback from our customers that they want one integrated solution to sort, retrieve, and automatically get the product into its final container.” said Alex Stevens, President of warehouse automation at OPEX. “Our new solutions, Sure Sort X and Xtract, are a response to those requests. This cutting-edge technology is designed to automate multiple manual tasks with a simple, one-touch solution.”
OPEX Xtract can be added to any Sure Sort X system by introducing retrieval iBOTs to work in conjunction with the traditional sortation iBOTs found in Sure Sort X. Xtract iBOTs move in a loop that has both horizontal and vertical segments within the Sure Sort X aisle, and can handle up to 200 extracted totes per hour. All of the iBOTs are self-charging and can easily be added to or removed from the system.
The system can retrieve standard totes or can be outfitted with Xtract totes, which are designed to transport items from the sort location to any available roller, v-chute, transfer (RVT) module. Once all products for a single order have been deposited into the Xtract totes, each tote is retrieved and transported to the RVT module, where doors in the bottom of each tote are opened, releasing the items into the final shipping box or order container.
Sure Sort X and Xtract join OPEX’s existing warehouse automation portfolio, which also includes OPEX Perfect Pick and OPEX Infinity automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS).
