Sawtooth

Merges and combiners are used to control the flow of items from multiple upstream processes to a single downstream process like sortation, check-weighing, or scanning. Merges are typically fed by an accumulation conveyor which collects products and times their release for an organized, controlled merge. This controlled release helps downstream processes like sortation keep pace with upstream processes like order picking, maximizing the efficiency of the entire system.

Normally, products will be slug released, meaning that a full lane of accumulated product is released at once through the merge. A sawtooth merge application can accumulate product in a round robin fashion, meaning that it accumulates product on one or more lines while releasing on a different line, providing maximum throughput of product downstream. Sawtooth merges are the best option for high-speed merges with a large number of infeed lines.