Vibratory bowl feeders, also known as a bowl feeders, are common devices used to orient and feed individual component parts for assembly on industrial production lines. They are used when a randomly sorted bulk package of small components must be fed into another machine one-by-one, oriented in a particular direction. [1]
A vibratory feeder is a self-contained device designed to manipulate parts of the same type into a specific orientation. It consists of a specially shaped bowl with ramps and other features designed for the parts being fed. Usually included is an out feed accumulation track (linear or gravity) to convey parts along and discharge into the assembly machine comes in many shapes and sizes. The drive unit, available in piezoelectric, electromagnetic and pneumatic drives, vibrates the bowl, forcing the parts to move up a circular, inclined track. A vibrating drive unit, upon which the bowl is mounted and a variable-amplitude control box controls the bowl feeder and can adjust the flow of parts to the out feed track via sensors. The tooling (hand made) is designed to sort and orient the parts in to a consistent, repeatable position. The track length, width, and depth are carefully chosen to suit each application, component shape and size. Special bowl and track coatings are applied according to shape, size and material of the component. These aid traction, reduce damage to the parts and lower acoustic levels.
Vibratory feeders rely on the mechanical behaviour of a part, such that when gently shaken along a conveyor chute that is specially designed for the part, many will be gradually become aligned properly, and the rest will fall back into the bowl. Thus a stream of parts leave the feeder's conveyor one-by-one, all in the same orientation. This conveyor then leads directly to the following assembly or packing machine.
Orientation relies on the shape and mechanical behaviour of an object, particular the position of its centre of mass in relation to its centre of volume. It thus works well for parts such as machine screws, with rotational symmetry and a clear asymmetry to one heavy end. It does not work for entirely symmetrical shapes, or where desired orientation depends on a feature such as colour. The ramps within a bowl feeder are specifically designed for each part, although the core mechanism is re-used across different parts. The exit orientation of a bowl feeder depends on the part's shape and mass distribution. Where this is not the orientation needed for the following assembly step, a feeder is often followed by a twisted conveyor that turns the part over, as needed.
Vibratory feeders are utilized by all industries, including the pharmaceutical, automotive, electronic, cosmetic, food, fast moving consumable goods (FMCG), packaging and metalworking industries. [2] It also serves other industries such as glass, foundry, steel, construction, recycling, pulp and paper, and plastics. Vibratory feeders offer a cost-effective alternative to manual labour, saving manufacturer's time and labour costs. Several factors must be considered when selecting a parts feeder, including the industry, application, material properties and product volume.
With increasing integration across an entire production process, the need for feeders is sometimes reduced by supplying the components on tape packages or similar, that keep them oriented the same way during shipping and storage. These are most common in fields such as electronics, where components must be used in a particular orientation, but this cannot be detected mechanically.
| Bowl | Material | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Cylindrical bowl | Aluminium/stainless steel | Continuous transport of components and for handling small parts |
| Conical bowl | Aluminium/stainless steel | Heavy sharp-edged components Larger loads Automatic pre-separating |
| Stepped bowl | Aluminium/stainless steel | Larger loads and larger components See also conical bowls |
| Polyamide bowl (conical or stepped) | Small components with simple geometry and where mass production of feeders is required |
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