A sorting apparatus transfers selected semiconductor devices from a first carrier, to which they have been cemented with an adhesive, to a second carrier to form a new array composed entirely of selected devices by: heating the first carrier just enough to soften the adhesive, heating the selected devices and small adjacent area with a hot air gun to a high enough temperature to melt the adhesive and release the device, and transferring the device to a second carrier. This avoids deleterious changes in the adhesive which arise from prolonged heating at the elevated melting temperature and which make it difficult to remove any remanent adhesive which clings to the devices. When the second carrier is dark, such as a barium ferrite magnet is, an array of light colored squares, one for each device, is formed on the carrier. Since each square is obscured when a device is transferred to it, or is distinctly visible when transfer does not occur, an immediate indication of the completeness of the array is provided with only cursory inspection.