Meet Magnus Carlgren: The Mind Behind CET's Latest Leap in Material Handling

Behind every powerful design tool is someone questioning the status quo.

Last fall, Magnus, now one of our Principal Sales Architects, quietly built something big. The work was already underway. A simple request is what brought it to the surface.

"The CEO asked me to make a pretty picture... I wasn't really paying attention."

- Magnus

That “pretty picture” was the visible result of a breakthrough in cross-belt sorter design in CET,  one of the most complex engineering puzzles in the material handling world.

3D model of a complex cross-belt conveyor sorter designed in CET

The Challenge: Make the Hardest Conveyor Loop Look Easy

Cross-belt sorters are notoriously difficult to design because they aren’t just conveyors—they’re loops.
Every distance, angle, rise, fall, and curve must return to itself perfectly. Traditionally, engineers map these systems in 2D CAD, crunching the math manually, then rebuilding the pieces again and again.

Magnus looked at that and asked: Why are humans doing math that computers can do better?

He set out to rebuild the logic behind how CET draws sortation systems.

What came out of those late-night code sessions is an engine that can:

• Auto-calculate complex elevation changes

• Rebuild curves dynamically

• Mirror structures with precision

• Reconfigure entire layouts with a single pull

• Turn a reference video into a near-accurate 3D model in hours

He even recreated a full cross-belt sorter with multi-level mezzanines in about four hours.

Multi-level conveyor layout illustrating elevation shifts and interconnected conveyor paths

Closer view of conveyor routing and structural elements within the system layout

And this is just the beginning. His work will power Essentials-level tools for manufacturers using CET, including integrators who don’t manufacture every component themselves.

In the spirit of marketing silliness (but also complete seriousness), we asked him if he could build a conveyor loop inspired by the Nürburgring in Germany, the famous Formula One racetrack.

Will he do it?
Possibly. 

One thing is certain: he doesn’t shy away from a challenge.

UPDATE: While working on this story, Magnus followed up:

"Oh yeah, I was going to do that race track thing."

- Magnus

Here it is, a Nürburgring conveyor loop, built in CET in under 15 minutes:

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