Ball table in sheet metal

A ball table does what a roller lane cannot: it lets the goods move in every direction. The table is covered in freely rolling balls, and a carton set on it can be pushed forward, sideways or turned on the spot with very little force. This ball table is made in sheet steel and belongs where goods on roller lanes have to change direction, be turned or be sorted by hand.

The need shows up in every flow that is not dead straight. A roller lane moves goods in one direction; at corners, crossings and work stations that logic runs out. That is where the ball table does the job: the carton slides over the balls, turns toward the right lane and rolls on, with no lifting and without the operator dragging the goods over edges and profiles.

Ergonomically this is a bigger thing than it sounds. Turning a heavy carton that is standing still on friction takes both grip and back strength; on balls one hand does the same job. At packing stations where parcels have to be labeled on a certain side, checked all around or turned before strapping, hundreds of heavy twists disappear from every shift.

The standard version is sheet steel and, according to the manufacturer specification, neither stainless nor ESD rated. That is plenty for a dry warehouse and ordinary industrial production. If you handle electronics with ESD requirements, or the table stands in a wet or corrosive place, you need a different version; check with us before you order and you avoid buying the wrong thing.

Which goods work on balls? Cartons, crates and boxes with a flat, stiff bottom slide easily. Soft sacks, parcels with a small bottom area and goods with parts sticking out work less well, since they sink between the balls or catch. A quick test run with your most common packaging usually gives the answer straight away, and it is cheaper than a badly planned station.

Typical places in Swedish industry are corner transfers between two roller lanes, inspection and packing stations in e-commerce warehouses, returns handling where parcels are turned and checked, and sorting points where one operator sends goods to several lanes. What they all have in common: the direction changes more often than the goods are lifted.

The alternative to a ball table is often a built curve or an extra operator lifting the goods between lanes. The curve takes more floor space and locks the layout; the lifting wears on both staff and packaging. In most cases the ball table is the smallest of the three solutions, and the only one that lets the same point work as corner, crossing and work surface all at once.

And the cost of choosing wrong? A station where the operator lifts and turns a thousand times a week. That is why we would rather talk dimensions and goods one extra time before an order than troubleshoot a layout afterwards.

At installation the same principle applies as for all unpowered materials handling: the table must sit level with the lanes it connects to so the transfers are smooth. An edge of a few millimeters is enough to stop a light carton, and then much of the point of the manual flow is gone. Keep the balls clean as well; dust and spillage are what make them bind over time.

Exact dimensions, ball placement and capacity are given in the manufacturer data sheet that we link on the product page. Check the figures against your lane width and your heaviest parcel before you decide.

Do you want to know whether the ball table suits your existing lane? Get in touch and we will go through the dimensions together.