A separation operation for particles includes loading particles of various sizes and responsive to electromagnetic forces into a starting position upon a separation collection component, sending a first current through a first set of conductors in a first direction drawing a subset of larger particles toward a first adjacent position to the starting position and sending successively lower currents compared to the first current through a second set of conductors in the first direction drawing a subset of smaller particles toward a second adjacent position to the starting position. A collection operation includes sending a lower current through a first set of conductors near a subset of smaller particles that forces the smaller particles into a first particle collection point and sending a higher current through the second set of conductors to collect a subset of larger particles into a second particle collection point.