COMPLETE ASSEMBLY, OPERATION & WORKFLOW GUIDE

The EZ Trim Bud Sorter is a manual commercial cannabis flower sorting and quality-control station designed to separate flower into consistent size categories without vibration, motors, or powered moving components.

The Bud Sorter can separate a batch into:

Shake → Popcorn → Small → Medium → Large Flower

Operators move flower manually across a sequence of removable sorting grates, allowing appropriately sized material to fall into the collection totes below.

Because the operator controls the movement of the flower, sorting can be performed without a powered vibrating or tumbling mechanism.

PART 1 — WHAT THE BUD SORTER IS DESIGNED TO DO

1. SORT FLOWER BY SIZE

The full-size Bud Sorter comes standard with five removable sorting grates:

¼ inch

½ inch

¾ inch

1 inch

1¼ inch

Additional grate sizes can be custom made when an operation requires different flower-size specifications.

The standard system uses five 27-gallon collection containers positioned underneath the sorting surface.

Published production capacity is approximately 70–90 pounds per hour, depending on flower condition, desired separation, operator pace, and workflow.

Treat throughput figures as production guidance rather than guaranteed output.

2. USE THE SORTER AS A QUALITY-CONTROL STATION

For dry trimming, the Bud Sorter is typically positioned after the trimming machine.

As trimmed flower enters the Sorter, operators can:

Inspect the flower

Perform necessary touch-up/QC

Remove unwanted material

Move flower across the sorting grates

Separate the finished flower by size

This combines sorting and quality control into one organized workstation.

Rather than automatically sending every machine-trimmed bud through a separate hand-finishing process, inspect the flower first and perform touch-up where it is actually required.

PART 2 — WHERE SORTING FITS IN THE HARVEST WORKFLOW

3. DRY-TRIM WORKFLOW

When processing dry flower, the instructional procedure places the Bud Sorter after trimming.

A typical EZ Trim dry workflow is:

Hang Dry → Buck → Equalize Dryness → Finger Test → Trim → Bud Sorter / QC

After sorting and QC, flower can continue into the appropriate curing, final-sorting, and packaging process.

Sorting similar-sized flower can also make packaging more efficient because flower within each category is more consistent in size and approximate weight.

4. WET-TRIM WORKFLOW

When processing wet flower, the instructional procedure places the Bud Sorter before drying.

A typical wet-trim workflow can therefore be:

Harvest → Wet Trim → Bud Sorter / QC → Dry

Separating wet flower into similar size categories before drying can help create groups of flower with more similar drying characteristics.

Large and small buds do not necessarily dry at the same rate, so size separation can be useful when managing the drying process.

PART 3 — COMPONENTS & ASSEMBLY

5. UNPACK AND IDENTIFY THE COMPONENTS

After removing the Bud Sorter from its pallet and packaging, identify the primary components.

The assembly instructional procedure includes:

Main Sorter top frame

Left stand

Right stand

Two cross-support rails

Five sorting grates

Five totes

Sorter shelf / tabletop

Sorter brush

Four end caps and pins

Supplied 3/16-inch Allen key

Inspect the components for shipping damage before assembly.

6. PREPARE THE CROSS-SUPPORT RAILS

Before installing the two cross-support rails, loosen the nuts at both ends of each rail.

Loosen each fastener until the bolt is approximately flush with the outside of the nut.

This provides enough clearance for the hardware to slide into the channels in the stand.

Perform this adjustment on all four ends of the two support rails before proceeding.

7. POSITION THE LEFT AND RIGHT STANDS

Lay the left and right stand sections on their sides.

Each stand has a filler side and a non-filler side.

Position the stands so the:

Filler sides face inward toward each other.

Correct orientation is important before installing the support rails.

8. INSTALL THE FIRST CROSS-SUPPORT RAIL

Align the cross-support rail hardware with the channel in the stand.

Slide the rail into the channel.

If the hardware does not slide freely, loosen the nut or screw slightly until it enters the channel correctly.

Slide the support rail down the frame until it aligns with the hole in the side of the stand.

You can look through the access hole to verify alignment with the screw.

Using the supplied 3/16-inch Allen key, tighten the screw on the outside of the stand frame.

Then tighten the screw on the L-bracket.

Repeat on the opposite side until the first support rail is securely connected to both stand sections.

9. INSTALL THE SECOND CROSS-SUPPORT RAIL

Once the first rail is installed, rotate the stand assembly approximately 90 degrees upright.

Prepare the second support rail.

For this rail, make sure the:

L-bracket is oriented upside down as shown in the assembly procedure.

Align the screws and nuts with the channels and slide the support rail into position.

Adjust the fasteners if necessary so the hardware slides properly.

Move the rail until it aligns with the corresponding mounting holes.

Tighten the L-bracket and outside fasteners securely on both sides.

PART 4 — INSTALL THE MAIN SORTER FRAME

10. POSITION THE TOP FRAME UPSIDE DOWN

Place the main Sorter top frame upside down on an appropriate work surface.

Take the assembled stand and align it with the channels in the upper frame.

Slide the stand hardware into the corresponding channels.

Once everything is correctly aligned, tighten the mounting bolts at both ends.

The assembly procedure identifies eight bolts total securing the stand to the upper frame.

Verify that all eight are tightened.

11. TURN THE SORTER UPRIGHT

Carefully rotate the assembled Sorter into its normal upright operating position.

Once upright:

Lock the casters.

The Sorter should be stable before installing the grates, totes, or processing flower.

PART 5 — INSTALL THE GRATES, CAPS, SHELF & TOTES

12. INSTALL THE FIVE SORTING GRATES

Take each sorting grate and align it with the channels/rails on the top side of the Sorter frame.

Slide each grate completely into position.

Install all five grates.

For normal progressive sorting, arrange the grates according to the size separation your operation wants to produce.

With the standard grate set, the available openings are:

¼" → ½" → ¾" → 1" → 1¼"

The appropriate sequence should progress according to the size categories being separated.

13. INSTALL THE END CAPS

Once all five grates have been installed, install the four supplied end caps.

Verify that each cap is properly seated.

14. INSTALL THE SHELF

Position the supplied Sorter shelf as shown in the assembly configuration.

The protective film can be removed from the shelf at this stage.

15. INSTALL THE FIVE COLLECTION TOTES

Before inserting the totes, make sure each container is:

Clean

Dry

Free of loose debris

Slide each tote into the rails on the bottom side of the Sorter frame.

Position the containers underneath their corresponding sorting areas so flower passing through the grates is captured correctly.

Once the grates and totes are installed, the Bud Sorter is ready for use.

PART 6 — PREPARING FOR OPERATION

16. INSPECT THE SORTER BEFORE EACH RUN

Before loading flower:

Lock the casters.

Verify that the Sorter is stable.

Confirm all grates are fully seated.

Verify the grates are clean.

Check that all collection totes are clean and properly positioned.

Confirm there is no loose debris on the work surface.

Make sure the sorting brush is clean.

Because the system contains no powered sorting mechanism, operation is simple—but cleanliness and correct grate/tote positioning remain important.

17. ESTABLISH YOUR SIZE CATEGORIES

There is no requirement that every cannabis operation use exactly the same finished flower grades.

Before beginning production, determine what each separated category represents for your operation.

For example:

Large Flower

Medium Flower

Small Flower

Popcorn

Shake

The exact commercial names may vary by brand, customer, product specification, or intended use.

The important factor is establishing a repeatable standard so employees understand what the sorting system is intended to produce.

PART 7 — OPERATING THE BUD SORTER

18. LOAD THE FIRST GRATE

Place the flower onto the first grate in the sorting sequence.

Avoid unnecessarily overloading the surface.

Use a manageable amount of product that operators can move and inspect efficiently.

19. BRUSH THE FLOWER ACROSS THE GRATES

Using the supplied Sorter brush, move the flower:

Back and forth across the grate

Then progressively down the sequence of grates

As the flower moves across each grate, material small enough to pass through the openings falls into the corresponding collection tote below.

Larger flower remains on the surface and continues to the next sorting stage.

Continue brushing until the batch has been separated into the appropriate containers.

20. USE CONTROLLED BRUSHING

The purpose of brushing is to move flower across the openings so size separation can occur.

You do not need powered vibration or aggressive tumbling.

Use enough brush movement to produce the desired separation while avoiding unnecessary handling of the flower.

The operator controls:

Amount of flower on the grate

Brush pressure

Number of passes

Speed of movement

Adjust the process to the condition of the flower and the level of separation required.

PART 8 — USE THE SORTER FOR QC

21. INSPECT FLOWER AS IT ENTERS THE SORTER

When dry trimming, the Sorter can serve as the QC station immediately after the trimming machine.

As flower is loaded onto the Sorter:

Inspect the finished trim.

Identify buds requiring correction.

Perform necessary touch-up.

Allow flower already meeting specification to continue directly into sorting.

This prevents operators from automatically hand-finishing every bud simply because it was machine trimmed.

22. DIRECT TOUCH-UP LABOR WHERE IT IS NEEDED

If a bud already meets the finished standard, additional handling may provide little value.

If correction is needed, identify the issue and correct that flower.

This creates the workflow:

Inspect → Correct if Necessary → Sort

If unusually large portions of a machine-trimmed batch require touch-up, investigate the upstream trimming process rather than treating excessive QC labor as unavoidable.

Review:

Flower preparation

Dryness consistency

Finger Test / trim readiness

Trimmer settings

Trim time

Cultivar characteristics

The Bud Sorter can therefore function as both a sorting station and a useful checkpoint for evaluating the effectiveness of the upstream harvest process.

PART 9 — SORTING & PACKAGING EFFICIENCY

23. SORT SIMILAR-SIZED FLOWER TOGETHER

One purpose identified in the Sorter instructional procedure is improving packaging efficiency by separating flower into groups of similar size and approximate weight.

This can make it easier to build consistent packages because operators are not repeatedly selecting from a mixed batch containing very large and very small buds.

After sorting, keep each flower category identified according to your operation's procedures.

PART 10 — SORTING & DRYING CONSISTENCY

24. USE SIZE SEPARATION BEFORE DRYING WHEN WET TRIMMING

When wet trimming, the Bud Sorter can be used before drying.

Separating similar-sized flower creates groups that may dry more consistently than a mixed batch containing everything from popcorn to large dense flower.

Sorting does not guarantee identical drying rates—cultivar, density, environment, and other factors still matter—but size separation gives operators another way to organize and monitor the drying process.

PART 11 — CUSTOM GRATES

25. ADJUST THE SORTING SYSTEM TO YOUR SPECIFICATION

The full-size Bud Sorter comes with the five standard grate sizes:

¼"

½"

¾"

1"

1¼"

Additional grates can be custom made to different preferred sizes.

This allows an operation to configure the sorting system around its own flower grading or packaging specification rather than forcing every operation to use exactly the same categories.

PART 12 — CLEANING

26. CLEAN BETWEEN BATCHES AS NEEDED

Keep all product-contact surfaces clean and free of loose plant material.

Remove flower, shake, and debris from:

Sorting grates

Sorter frame

Shelf/work surface

Collection totes

Sorter brush

If processing different cultivars or product lots that must remain separated, clean the system according to your facility's procedures before beginning the next batch.

The uploaded instructional transcripts do not specify a particular chemical cleaner or sanitation procedure, so I would not add one here unless it comes from your existing official Bud Sorter documentation.

PART 13 — CONVERTING THE SORTER TO A WORK TABLE

27. USE THE SORTER AS A WORK SURFACE WHEN NOT SORTING

The full-size Bud Sorter can also function as a work surface/table when it is not being used for sorting.

When sorting is complete:

1. 
   Remove the collection totes.
   
2. 
   Place the supplied shelf/tabletop on the top of the Sorter frame.
   
3. 
   Store the totes underneath the table inside the support rails.
   

This converts the Sorter footprint into a usable work surface rather than requiring the equipment to occupy dedicated floor space while idle.

BUD SORTER QUICK OPERATING CHECKLIST

Before sorting:

□ Casters locked

□ Sorter stable

□ Grates clean and correctly installed

□ Five collection totes clean and properly positioned

□ Brush clean

□ Flower-size categories established

□ Product loaded onto first grate

□ Flower brushed back and forth and progressively down the grates

□ QC performed during sorting when appropriate

□ Finished categories kept identified and separated

□ Grates, totes, brush, and work surfaces cleaned after use

DRY-TRIM WORKFLOW

Trim → Inspect / QC → Bud Sorter → Touch-Up Where Needed → Cure → Final Sort → Package

WET-TRIM WORKFLOW

Wet Trim → Bud Sorter / QC → Dry → Continue Post-Harvest Process

BUD SORTER OPERATING PRINCIPLE

Sort the flower—and organize the labor at the same time.

The Bud Sorter is not simply a flower-sizing device.

Used as part of a commercial post-harvest workflow, it can provide a central station for:

Inspection → Targeted Touch-Up → Size Separation → Product Organization

With no powered sorting mechanism, the operator maintains direct control over how the flower is handled and how much movement is used to achieve the desired separation.