Answers.Body: <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/eXhSW.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eXhSW.jpg" alt="InI desk"></a></p>
  
  <p>I designed and built a lego sorting and storage desk for my son late last year. It has 16 bins and 16 corresponding holes in the top. It also has an interior baffle system to keep lego pieces from jumping into incorrect bin. I had to go through several designs to get it to work right, be ergonomic (all drop slots within reach while seated), and make it easy to assemble.</p>
  
  <p>Although I have patent pending on the design, someone with reasonable skills could come up with their own version for personal use.</p>
  
  <p>The table works well, but it is designed for center-of-room use to allow access to all the bins. My son and my wife often sit opposite each other at the desk while sorting to make things go more quickly.</p>
  
  <p>We sort by type mostly, with simple combinations of blocks sorted to one side of the table, and non-block type pieces to the other.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-11-07T16:10:07.780Z
Answers.Text: This is brilliant! A compact fordable version would be awesome.  This way you can get it out only when sorting.
Answers.UserDisplayName: pcantin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-11-12T15:13:41.460Z
Answers.Text: Thanks! My wife asked me to build my son a storage system for his Lego collection in late 2014. I spent days searching the internet for an idea like what Major Stackings mentioned in his post here. My wife sent me all sorts of Pinterest ideas, but I knew he wouldn't keep any of those organized because they all involved large containers spread all over the place, or stacked on top of each other. He actually uses this desk as an all-in-one sorting, storage, workspace, and display system.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Don
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-11-06T19:57:51.470Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-11-06T19:57:51.470Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Don
Answers.Body: <p>Here's a video I found, featuring a fully automated LEGO sorter made out of LEGO itself:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=6lZ9rSZwDzE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=6lZ9rSZwDzE</a></p>
  
  <p>Keep in mind that the time it takes you to build and use one of these is probably greater than the amount of time it takes to sort by hand. </p>
  
  <p>EDIT:</p>
  
  <p>I don't think slots would work great as the bricks could fit into multiple shapes/sizes of holes. One thing you could try is a "panning for gold" method - put pieces in a bowl and swirl them around. The heavier ones should fall out. Don't know how well it would work, but it is worth a shot.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-03T23:12:39.717Z
Answers.Text: Thanks! It's not quite what I have in mind, but thanks for your help.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-03T23:30:57.517Z
Answers.Text: @MajorStakings How is this not helpful? The only difference with what you want is the output sorter (shoots instead of buckets)
Answers.UserDisplayName: pcantin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-04T10:31:41.070Z
Answers.Text: That's the video I was looking for. I like how this sorts beyond the colour of the brick.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-04T17:40:04.247Z
Answers.Text: @pcantin: I think the device in the video is awesome, but it seems somewhat limited by the number of elements types it can sort at one time and by the speed it can sort them. I'm picturing a sort by hand "mailslot" pigeon hole system that routes to dozens of trays at once.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-04T17:52:52.373Z
Answers.Text: @MajorStackings The hard part is not the output mechanism.  Recognizing the bricks is everything and this system is amazing at that (even using computer vision).  Once that's done, optimizing the speed can be done several ways and on several components (software, mechanical, structural).  One simple way to augment the speed would be to put many similar detectors in parallel but connected to the same input and output systems.
Answers.UserDisplayName: pcantin
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-07-22T22:56:40.810Z
Answers.Text: The device in the video is fantastic but is that a UV light it uses to illuminate the bricks for identification? Nooooo! The enemy of the blue/white/light grey brick! But just don't sort your bricks too often and it should be ok :-)
Answers.UserDisplayName: mcqwerty
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-03T22:59:41.760Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-11-26T02:25:58.763Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-11-26T02:25:58.763Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Pubby
Answers.Body: <p>I have a fairly large collection.  Processing bricks is a lot more pleasant with my homemade device, which is vaguely similar to the devices above, but made from MDF.  </p>
  
  <p>Note that the commercial products have holes that are square, not round, so the size of bricks that is blocked by them is kind of variable.  My sorter has two sorting levels, one with 30mm holes and one with 15mm holes.  Because LEGO bricks are 8mm per stud, <em>nothing</em> 4x4 or over falls through the top level, and <em>nothing</em> 2x2 or over goes through the second.  I could have done 22/23mm holes for 3x3s and 7mm for sub 1x1s, but empirically they're rare pieces and not worth the effort. The holes are laid out in a hexagonal grid, on a sheet of MDF large enough to cover - and fall straight through into - my storage boxes (450mm square, as that's the size the sheets come in).  Spacing of the holes and thickness of the MDF was selected to ensure strength - MDF doesn't distort too much before breaking, and using MDF was important because it's cheap, common and unlikely to damage the bricks.  There are sides to each tray to prevent spillage, and nodes on the underside to lock each layer into the one below.  </p>
  
  <p>The hardest part in constructing my sorting trays was finding drill bits for making 30mm and 15mm holes; I found only one 30mm spade bit in my local hardware superstore, and I had to go to a commercial tool supplier for the 15mm bit.  I also needed a new drill, as my existing one couldn't spin slowly enough to make <em>round</em> holes with a spade bit.</p>
  
  <p>So, here's the entire unit; you can see the sides to hold a reasonable amount of LEGO without spilling over:
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pp4BV.jpg" alt="The entire unit"></p>
  
  <p>And here's what LEGO swamping the 30mm holes in the top looks like. Most of the time I'm operating at this level; the second level can contain a large number of pieces given they're so much smaller.
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oKpV6.jpg" alt="30mm holes in the top"></p>
  
  <p>The second level gets the smaller parts falling through while you're pawing through the top tier.  You can see the spacing created by the tall corner posts, this is to allow a 2x16 plate (the longest part I'd expect to process - 128mm) to fall through if it wants too - but typically something that long won't fall from the top level, as its lowest centre of gravity lays it flat and so the great length won't fit through the topmost holes.  If one were to slip into a hole, it could be raked into a position to fall, so about 10% or 20% of pieces as large as this fall through to this level.
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pPJTU.jpg" alt="The second level"></p>
  
  <p>The small detritus finds its way to the bottom level
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/2PaFA.jpg" alt="The bottom level"></p>
  
  <p>Here you can see the locking nodes that prevent the tiers rotating and moving off the tier below.
  <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/oPvDA.jpg" alt="The underside"></p>
  
  <p>Prior to building this I experimented with a number of designs and found that they had a common problem of clogging up.  This experiences that to some extent too, but has a vast number of holes to minimize the impact, and a finger poked up from below can clear the blockage.  Radar dishes and large cones, for example, are good at filling holes.</p>
  
  <p>I do have a tumbler to separate out plates and other small items from bricks, but it requires a lot of work to cause the separation so I wouldn't recommend it as a sorting tool.  I could supply an image for those with an academic interest.</p>
  
  <p>I showed my device at my local LUG, and a year or so later another member went and made his own <a href="http://moz.net.nz/lego/2012-08-19-lego-sifting/" rel="noreferrer">tennis-racket inspired LEGO sifter</a>. I humbly suggest this device suffers from the same problem with square (or sometimes triangular) holes that the commercial devices exhibit.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-11-15T00:18:55.093Z
Answers.Text: Thanks for the pics. I bet you've gained a ton of build time by reducing your sort time. I like the size of the footprint of your device as well . It's much smaller than the behemoth I have in mind.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2013-09-17T22:20:23.813Z
Answers.Text: My tennis racquet based one is for sorting mostly Technic, where I have a lot of sub-1x1 parts and very few studded parts, so it works pretty well for that. Rob has it now so it'd be interesting to see how it works with non-Technic.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Móż
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-11-06T16:00:27.840Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-11-17T03:15:08.567Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2012-11-17T03:15:08.567Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Josh
Answers.Body: <p>Yes. Jacques Mattheij made a pretty awesome machine using some feeders, machine learning, and air blowers to sort out the top 1000 parts by popularity. It looks like he's well on his way to sorting two metric tons of bulk LEGO: <a href="https://jacquesmattheij.com/sorting-two-metric-tons-of-lego" rel="noreferrer">https://jacquesmattheij.com/sorting-two-metric-tons-of-lego</a></p>
  
  <p>More discussion on Hacker News, including a bunch of comments by Jacques under the handle <code>jacquesm</code>: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14226889" rel="noreferrer">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14226889</a></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/qaOFp.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/qaOFp.jpg" alt="feeder"></a><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/QlIvQ.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/QlIvQ.jpg" alt="screenshot from machine learning"></a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2017-05-01T06:04:11.490Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2017-05-01T06:04:11.490Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Jeff McJunkin
Answers.Body: <p>The most promising approach that I have seen is being used by LETZGO (<a href="http://www.letzgo.co.kr/home" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.letzgo.co.kr/home</a>) a Korean start-up that aims to make Lego affordable by offering Lego sets on a rental basis.  Naturally the rental process makes sets liable to lose/damage pieces and so they appear to have developed an automated process for sorting and to verify the integrity of sets.</p>
  
  <p>There is footage of the system in action here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WD1sM-b2Qc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WD1sM-b2Qc</a></p>
  
  <p>It appears to weigh pieces in addition to using various computer vision processes to effectively identify pieces individually.</p>
  
  <p>It sounds like they may be considering open-sourcing some of this system (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck7IOx2Pp3c" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck7IOx2Pp3c</a>).  Show your appreciation and share some love with the creators!  (and cross your fingers they are willing to share their work!)</p>
  
  <p>An automated Lego sorting system developed by the global Lego community would truly transform the hobby of Lego!</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/G2828.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/G2828.png" alt="piece conveyor"></a></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/4shVF.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/4shVF.png" alt="software screenshot"></a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-12-21T03:53:10.013Z
Answers.Text: If you happen to know more about this project please leave a comment :-)  If you speak Korean you should find out more!
Answers.UserDisplayName: ebpa
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2016-12-21T03:51:01.733Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2016-12-21T03:51:01.733Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: ebpa
Answers.Body: <p>We have a small business sorting LEGO for customers (www.brick-sort.com)... and we've tried many different machines. Bottom line is that, unless you're dealing in tens of thousands of parts, Pubby is right: <em>"...the time it takes you to build and use one of these is probably greater than the amount of time it takes to sort by hand."</em> I think people forget about the "using" part of this. Someone has to stand there and shake the basket. Someone also has to break-apart the bricks. I find that our minimum wage labor does the job much faster. </p>
  
  <p>When sorting by color, yes, it helps to have a table with a big hole in the center where you can toss the bricks (a bucket underneath catches them). The problem with collection trays affixed to the side of the table is that they fill-up quickly. </p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-06-19T00:39:22.597Z
Answers.Text: I've considered building a pigeon hole sorting station inside a stepvan. I'm not sure if it would ever pay for itself though.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2014-06-19T00:10:09.593Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2014-06-19T00:10:09.593Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Hogsqueal
Answers.Body: <p>You and I arrived at similar solutions.  I used plastic buckets to sort by size:</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Brick-Sorter/" rel="nofollow">http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Brick-Sorter/</a></p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-04-27T10:11:26.097Z
Answers.Text: Hi David, and welcome to LEGO Answers. We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context - and not just links to another site - if you could include a copy of your key image that would help immensely (i.e. step 2). Thanks :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: Zhaph - Ben Duguid
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-11-06T21:25:39.847Z
Answers.Text: [adding images](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2133/whats-the-recommended-syntax-for-an-image-with-a-link) is a great way to make an answer come to life :)
Answers.UserDisplayName: chicks
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-04-26T12:42:12.473Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-04-26T12:42:12.473Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: David Maxwell
Answers.Body: <p>While they won't do the sorting <em>for you</em> like that clever youtube video, there are a couple of commercial sorting products that can help you bulk-group your legos by size as a preliminary sorting mechanism, through differently-sized grates.</p>
  
  <p><a href="http://www.box4blox.com/" rel="noreferrer">Box4Blox</a> has been around for a while. <a href="http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/10/29/box4blox-review/" rel="noreferrer">Good review of it at Brother's Brick</a>.</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/nRbpB.jpg" alt="Box4Blox"></p>
  
  <p>Lego has recently produced their own similar <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldWcZ7eDKCg" rel="noreferrer">Sort and Store</a> shaped like a minifig head:</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/I5cU2.jpg" alt="Sort and Store"></p>
  
  <p>At our house we organize by color, and have a large bucket of each (mostly because its easier for the kids to help maintain the organization, hypothetically anyway...). I've toyed with the idea of getting one of these, pouring each color bucket through, and ending up with convenient size-groupings within each color. Should be much easier to find what we need.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-06T05:47:03.840Z
Answers.Text: Thanks. We're getting closer. The obsessive compulsive side of me says I should build one. Rube Goldbrick, here I come.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-07T17:20:32.123Z
Answers.Text: @MajorStackings: Perhaps a "vibrating table"-style mechanism starting with sorting screens like this?
Answers.UserDisplayName: BradC
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-12T01:04:37.180Z
Answers.Text: I was leaning towards a hand sorting device. I had a differnet concept in mind, but this is a great answer. Thanks.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2020-05-26T06:20:51.263Z
Answers.Text: I see a lot of people sort Lego by color, and I don't understand it at all.  If you have your blocks sorted by shape, it's very easy to pick out the right color (assuming you're not colorblind).  If you have the blocks sorted by color, it's going to take a lot of looking to spot the right shape in there.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Kyralessa
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2011-11-06T04:13:45.827Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2012-08-18T14:03:37.020Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2012-08-18T14:03:37.020Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: BradC
Body: <p>I need to rephrase my question. Has anyone built or used a large pigeon hole/ chute/ bin collection system to sort LEGO elements? The sorting system doesn't need to be made of LEGO bricks. I just want to know if any of you studio builders sort your elements in a more organised fashion than the average fan. I'm trying to figure out if this is a project I should take on, or a boondoggle I should avoid... </p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2011-11-03T23:11:40.403Z
Comments.Text: I'm imagining a sorting table with a slotted back panel into which you drop the pieces and retrieve them from a series of collection trays. It's still sorting by hand, but it would accelerate the unbuild/sorting process. It would be great to see if anybody has done this.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-02-08T16:04:49.147Z
Comments.Text: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/6064/quick-way-to-inventory-parts has an answer with a sorting machine build from bricks, NXT and a computer.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Exilyth
Tags: <organisation>
Title: Has anyone automated the LEGO hand sorting process beyond "pawing & piling"?
UserDisplayName: Major Stackings
ThreadText: # Has anyone automated the LEGO hand sorting process beyond "pawing & piling"?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2011-11-03)
  
  I need to rephrase my question. Has anyone built or used a large pigeon hole/ chute/ bin collection system to sort LEGO elements? The sorting system doesn't need to be made of LEGO bricks. I just want to know if any of you studio builders sort your elements in a more organised fashion than the average fan. I'm trying to figure out if this is a project I should take on, or a boondoggle I should avoid...
  
  **Tags:** organisation
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: I'm imagining a sorting table with a slotted back panel into which you drop the pieces and retrieve them from a series of collection trays. It's still sorting by hand, but it would accelerate the unbuild/sorting process. It would be great to see if anybody has done this.  
  > **username_1**: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/6064/quick-way-to-inventory-parts has an answer with a sorting machine build from bricks, NXT and a computer.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 8 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_15 on 2011-11-06. Score: 20 | Accepted answer
  
  While they won't do the sorting *for you* like that clever youtube video, there are a couple of commercial sorting products that can help you bulk-group your legos by size as a preliminary sorting mechanism, through differently-sized grates.
  
  [Box4Blox](http://www.box4blox.com/) has been around for a while. [Good review of it at Brother's Brick](http://www.brothers-brick.com/2008/10/29/box4blox-review/).
  
  ![Box4Blox](https://i.sstatic.net/nRbpB.jpg)
  
  Lego has recently produced their own similar [Sort and Store](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldWcZ7eDKCg) shaped like a minifig head:
  
  ![Sort and Store](https://i.sstatic.net/I5cU2.jpg)
  
  At our house we organize by color, and have a large bucket of each (mostly because its easier for the kids to help maintain the organization, hypothetically anyway...). I've toyed with the idea of getting one of these, pouring each color bucket through, and ending up with convenient size-groupings within each color. Should be much easier to find what we need.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thanks. We're getting closer. The obsessive compulsive side of me says I should build one. Rube Goldbrick, here I come.  
  > **username_15**: @MajorStackings: Perhaps a "vibrating table"-style mechanism starting with sorting screens like this?  
  > **username_0**: I was leaning towards a hand sorting device. I had a differnet concept in mind, but this is a great answer. Thanks.  
  > **username_16**: I see a lot of people sort Lego by color, and I don't understand it at all.  If you have your blocks sorted by shape, it's very easy to pick out the right color (assuming you're not colorblind).  If you have the blocks sorted by color, it's going to take a lot of looking to spot the right shape in there.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2012-11-06. Score: 22
  
  I have a fairly large collection. Processing bricks is a lot more pleasant with my homemade device, which is vaguely similar to the devices above, but made from MDF.
  
  Note that the commercial products have holes that are square, not round, so the size of bricks that is blocked by them is kind of variable. My sorter has two sorting levels, one with 30mm holes and one with 15mm holes. Because LEGO bricks are 8mm per stud, *nothing* 4x4 or over falls through the top level, and *nothing* 2x2 or over goes through the second. I could have done 22/23mm holes for 3x3s and 7mm for sub 1x1s, but empirically they're rare pieces and not worth the effort. The holes are laid out in a hexagonal grid, on a sheet of MDF large enough to cover - and fall straight through into - my storage boxes (450mm square, as that's the size the sheets come in). Spacing of the holes and thickness of the MDF was selected to ensure strength - MDF doesn't distort too much before breaking, and using MDF was important because it's cheap, common and unlikely to damage the bricks. There are sides to each tray to prevent spillage, and nodes on the underside to lock each layer into the one below.
  
  The hardest part in constructing my sorting trays was finding drill bits for making 30mm and 15mm holes; I found only one 30mm spade bit in my local hardware superstore, and I had to go to a commercial tool supplier for the 15mm bit. I also needed a new drill, as my existing one couldn't spin slowly enough to make *round* holes with a spade bit.
  
  So, here's the entire unit; you can see the sides to hold a reasonable amount of LEGO without spilling over:
  ![The entire unit](https://i.sstatic.net/pp4BV.jpg)
  
  And here's what LEGO swamping the 30mm holes in the top looks like. Most of the time I'm operating at this level; the second level can contain a large number of pieces given they're so much smaller.
  ![30mm holes in the top](https://i.sstatic.net/oKpV6.jpg)
  
  The second level gets the smaller parts falling through while you're pawing through the top tier. You can see the spacing created by the tall corner posts, this is to allow a 2x16 plate (the longest part I'd expect to process - 128mm) to fall through if it wants too - but typically something that long won't fall from the top level, as its lowest centre of gravity lays it flat and so the great length won't fit through the topmost holes. If one were to slip into a hole, it could be raked into a position to fall, so about 10% or 20% of pieces as large as this fall through to this level.
  ![The second level](https://i.sstatic.net/pPJTU.jpg)
  
  The small detritus finds its way to the bottom level
  ![The bottom level](https://i.sstatic.net/2PaFA.jpg)
  
  Here you can see the locking nodes that prevent the tiers rotating and moving off the tier below.
  ![The underside](https://i.sstatic.net/oPvDA.jpg)
  
  Prior to building this I experimented with a number of designs and found that they had a common problem of clogging up. This experiences that to some extent too, but has a vast number of holes to minimize the impact, and a finger poked up from below can clear the blockage. Radar dishes and large cones, for example, are good at filling holes.
  
  I do have a tumbler to separate out plates and other small items from bricks, but it requires a lot of work to cause the separation so I wouldn't recommend it as a sorting tool. I could supply an image for those with an academic interest.
  
  I showed my device at my local LUG, and a year or so later another member went and made his own [tennis-racket inspired LEGO sifter](http://moz.net.nz/lego/2012-08-19-lego-sifting/). I humbly suggest this device suffers from the same problem with square (or sometimes triangular) holes that the commercial devices exhibit.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thanks for the pics. I bet you've gained a ton of build time by reducing your sort time. I like the size of the footprint of your device as well . It's much smaller than the behemoth I have in mind.  
  > **username_8**: My tennis racquet based one is for sorting mostly Technic, where I have a lot of sub-1x1 parts and very few studded parts, so it works pretty well for that. Rob has it now so it'd be interesting to see how it works with non-Technic.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2015-11-06. Score: 12
  
  [![InI desk](https://i.sstatic.net/eXhSW.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/eXhSW.jpg)
  
  I designed and built a lego sorting and storage desk for my son late last year. It has 16 bins and 16 corresponding holes in the top. It also has an interior baffle system to keep lego pieces from jumping into incorrect bin. I had to go through several designs to get it to work right, be ergonomic (all drop slots within reach while seated), and make it easy to assemble.
  
  Although I have patent pending on the design, someone with reasonable skills could come up with their own version for personal use.
  
  The table works well, but it is designed for center-of-room use to allow access to all the bins. My son and my wife often sit opposite each other at the desk while sorting to make things go more quickly.
  
  We sort by type mostly, with simple combinations of blocks sorted to one side of the table, and non-block type pieces to the other.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_3**: This is brilliant! A compact fordable version would be awesome.  This way you can get it out only when sorting.  
  > **username_2**: Thanks! My wife asked me to build my son a storage system for his Lego collection in late 2014. I spent days searching the internet for an idea like what Major Stackings mentioned in his post here. My wife sent me all sorts of Pinterest ideas, but I knew he wouldn't keep any of those organized because they all involved large containers spread all over the place, or stacked on top of each other. He actually uses this desk as an all-in-one sorting, storage, workspace, and display system.  
  
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  ### Answer by username_4 on 2011-11-03. Score: 8
  
  Here's a video I found, featuring a fully automated LEGO sorter made out of LEGO itself:
  
  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6lZ9rSZwDzE>
  
  Keep in mind that the time it takes you to build and use one of these is probably greater than the amount of time it takes to sort by hand.
  
  EDIT:
  
  I don't think slots would work great as the bricks could fit into multiple shapes/sizes of holes. One thing you could try is a "panning for gold" method - put pieces in a bowl and swirl them around. The heavier ones should fall out. Don't know how well it would work, but it is worth a shot.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: Thanks! It's not quite what I have in mind, but thanks for your help.  
  > **username_3**: @MajorStakings How is this not helpful? The only difference with what you want is the output sorter (shoots instead of buckets)  
  > **username_5**: That's the video I was looking for. I like how this sorts beyond the colour of the brick.  
  > **username_0**: @pcantin: I think the device in the video is awesome, but it seems somewhat limited by the number of elements types it can sort at one time and by the speed it can sort them. I'm picturing a sort by hand "mailslot" pigeon hole system that routes to dozens of trays at once.  
  > **username_3**: @MajorStackings The hard part is not the output mechanism.  Recognizing the bricks is everything and this system is amazing at that (even using computer vision).  Once that's done, optimizing the speed can be done several ways and on several components (software, mechanical, structural).  One simple way to augment the speed would be to put many similar detectors in parallel but connected to the same input and output systems.  
  > **username_6**: The device in the video is fantastic but is that a UV light it uses to illuminate the bricks for identification? Nooooo! The enemy of the blue/white/light grey brick! But just don't sort your bricks too often and it should be ok :-)  
  
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  ### Answer by username_9 on 2017-05-01. Score: 5
  
  Yes. Jacques Mattheij made a pretty awesome machine using some feeders, machine learning, and air blowers to sort out the top 1000 parts by popularity. It looks like he's well on his way to sorting two metric tons of bulk LEGO: <https://jacquesmattheij.com/sorting-two-metric-tons-of-lego>
  
  More discussion on Hacker News, including a bunch of comments by Jacques under the handle `jacquesm`: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14226889>
  
  [![feeder](https://i.sstatic.net/qaOFp.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/qaOFp.jpg)[![screenshot from machine learning](https://i.sstatic.net/QlIvQ.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/QlIvQ.jpg)
  
  
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  ### Answer by username_10 on 2016-12-21. Score: 3
  
  The most promising approach that I have seen is being used by LETZGO (<http://www.letzgo.co.kr/home>) a Korean start-up that aims to make Lego affordable by offering Lego sets on a rental basis. Naturally the rental process makes sets liable to lose/damage pieces and so they appear to have developed an automated process for sorting and to verify the integrity of sets.
  
  There is footage of the system in action here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WD1sM-b2Qc>
  
  It appears to weigh pieces in addition to using various computer vision processes to effectively identify pieces individually.
  
  It sounds like they may be considering open-sourcing some of this system (<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck7IOx2Pp3c>). Show your appreciation and share some love with the creators! (and cross your fingers they are willing to share their work!)
  
  An automated Lego sorting system developed by the global Lego community would truly transform the hobby of Lego!
  
  [![piece conveyor](https://i.sstatic.net/G2828.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/G2828.png)
  
  [![software screenshot](https://i.sstatic.net/4shVF.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/4shVF.png)
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_10**: If you happen to know more about this project please leave a comment :-)  If you speak Korean you should find out more!  
  
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  ### Answer by username_11 on 2014-06-19. Score: 3
  
  We have a small business sorting LEGO for customers (www.brick-sort.com)... and we've tried many different machines. Bottom line is that, unless you're dealing in tens of thousands of parts, Pubby is right: *"...the time it takes you to build and use one of these is probably greater than the amount of time it takes to sort by hand."* I think people forget about the "using" part of this. Someone has to stand there and shake the basket. Someone also has to break-apart the bricks. I find that our minimum wage labor does the job much faster.
  
  When sorting by color, yes, it helps to have a table with a big hole in the center where you can toss the bricks (a bucket underneath catches them). The problem with collection trays affixed to the side of the table is that they fill-up quickly.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_0**: I've considered building a pigeon hole sorting station inside a stepvan. I'm not sure if it would ever pay for itself though.  
  
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  ### Answer by username_12 on 2015-04-26. Score: 2
  
  You and I arrived at similar solutions. I used plastic buckets to sort by size:
  
  <http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Brick-Sorter/>
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_13**: Hi David, and welcome to LEGO Answers. We're looking for long answers that provide some explanation and context - and not just links to another site - if you could include a copy of your key image that would help immensely (i.e. step 2). Thanks :)  
  > **username_14**: [adding images](http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2133/whats-the-recommended-syntax-for-an-image-with-a-link) is a great way to make an answer come to life :)  
  
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