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Automated Conveyor Sort Project

Overview

In 2026, Adesuwa built an automated conveyor sorter system using a Codesys PLC, an HMI designed with Ignition Vision, and simulated in Factory I/O. This system was to sort packages on the conveyor belt by size (package height).

The Challenge

The initial challenge in the system had to do with packages being unintentionally misdirected into the wrong lane. This happened when a package followed too closely behind another one that belonged to a different lane.

The Approach

The system consists of five conveyors. Each conveyor was fitted with an entry and exit photoelectric sensor as well as an encoder.

• Infeed conveyor: This conveyor transports packages into the system. Packages are placed on this conveyor (in Factory I/O, the packages spawned in) at random and moved towards the main transport conveyor.
• Main / Transport conveyor: This conveyor transports packages to their destinations.
• Multilane conveyour, ie lane 1, lane 2, and lane 3: These conveyors are the final destination for packages. When packages are measured and sensed by the systme, they are directed to one of the three conveyors depending on their size.
• Reject conveyor: Packages that are not sorted to any of the conveyors in the multilane conveyor set are sent to this conveyor, which then routes packages to a reject pile.

The Solution

Adesuwa ensured packages would have a gap between them to ensure none would be directed by the wrong diverter. This was achieved by occassionally stopping motion on the infeed conveyor in order to create distance between too close packages.

Photoelectric sensors at the entry of conveyors in conjunction with encoders were used to track the location of each package in the system.