Sling Sorter
Pendu builds sling sorters that sit after the sawmill and sort boards by grade, length, and width. Graded lumber is tracked across an overhead drag chain and drops into the bin designated for it. When a bin reaches its count, it drops out and heads to the stacker. Bins are unlimited, speed is variable, and the whole thing runs off touchscreen controls.
It can slot in after the mill you’re already running or anchor a new sorting and stacking line.
The big questions on a sorter are your production rate and how many grades you're sorting to. Length comes after that.
Number of Sorts: This is the one that gets underestimated. We count every board that drops into every bin, and the moment a bin fills you need another empty bin already allocated or the system stops. A mill running 12 grades may need something on the order of 30 bins to keep running while a full one is emptied. Tell us how many grades you're sorting to and we'll size the bin count around it.
Production Rate: How fast boards are arriving off the mill. Speed is variable, and the sorter is sized to keep pace with what's coming at it.
Material Length: 6’ to 16’ standard. Other lengths are available.
Sorting graded hardwood: Boards come out of the sawmill and someone marks or calls the grade. No. 1 Common, No. 2 Common, FAS, Select. Each grade brings different money, so getting them into the right bin is the difference between what the load is worth and what you get paid for it.
Green lumber headed for your kiln: Once a bin fills, the bundle drops and goes out to the stacker, where the sticks go in before the pack heads to the kiln.
Mills selling dead packs: If you don't dry on site, the sorted bundle goes to the stacker as a dead pack and out to the buyer who does the drying.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bins do I need?
More than you have grades. Every bin that fills has to have an empty one waiting or the line shuts down while you empty it. As a rough sense of scale, a mill running 12 grades may need something on the order of 30 bins. We'll work the actual number with you.
What lengths can it handle?
6’ to 16’ standard, and other lengths are available. Tell us your longest board.
How does the sorter know where a board goes?
The grade is marked or called upstream. From there the board is tracked across the drag chain and drops into the bin designated for it.
What does Pendu need to quote a sorter?
Your production rate and how many different grades you're sorting to. Length after that.
Not Seeing What You Need?
If you're running more grades than the bins described here allow for, sorting to lengths outside 6’ to 16’, or working out how many bins it takes to keep your line from stopping, tell us what you're sorting and how fast it's arriving. We'll work through it with you.
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