Balanced feeder design: An alternative to vibratory bowl feeders
25 Oct 2021-Vol. 2408, Iss: 1, pp 020011
TL;DR: In this paper, a balanced feeder with wiper blades was developed and optimized to maximize the conveying velocity with no part clogging, but the design was based on linear feeders.
Abstract: Linear vibratory feeders and vibratory bowl feeders are widely used as part feeders in mass production industries. Making the helical track of the bowl feeder requires special tooling. This makes it expensive to adapt to product changes. Linear feeders are simpler in construction and relatively flexible enough to accommodate a variety of products. This paper provides an alternate design to vibratory bowl feeders. A balanced feeder experimental setup with wiper blades was developed and optimized to maximize the conveying velocity with no part clogging.
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06 Jan 2022-Proceedings Of The Institution Of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal Of Process Mechanical Engineering
TL;DR: In this article , a mathematical model was developed that can predict the trend in conveying velocity in linear vibratory feeder in three distinct regimes, sliding, hopping and a combination of these two.
Abstract: Linear vibratory feeder is one of the most extensively used part feeding systems in a production line. The part motion on the feeder can be sliding or hopping or a combination of these two. Based on the dynamics of part motion this paper identifies three distinct regimes. A mathematical model was developed that can predict the trend in conveying velocity in these regimes. This model can provide the parts position as a function of time and has considered relative displacement between the part and the conveying surface. The simulation was validated by performing experiments for a range of vibration frequencies and amplitudes.
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01 Jan 1991
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a detailed analysis of high-speed automatic insertion and insertion of parts for high speed feeding and orienting of a Vibratory-Bowl feeder.
Abstract: INTRODUCTION Historical Development of the Assembly Process Choice of Assembly Method Social Effects of Automation References AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY TRANSFER SYSTEMS Continuous Transfer Intermittent Transfer Indexing Mechanisms Operator-Paced Free-Transfer Machine References AUTOMATIC FEEDING AND ORIENTING - VIBRATORY FEEDERS Mechanics of Vibratory Conveying Effect of Frequency Effect of Track Acceleration Effect of Vibration Angle Effect of Track Angle Effect of Coefficient of Friction Estimating the Mean Conveying Velocity Load Sensitivity Solutions to Load Sensitivity Spiral Elevators Balanced Feeders Orientation of Parts Typical Orienting System Effect of Active Orienting Devices on Feed Rate Analysis of Orienting Systems Performance of an Orienting Device Natural Resting Aspects of Parts for Automatic Handling Analysis of a Typical Orienting System Out-of-Bowl Tooling References AUTOMATIC FEEDING AND ORIENTING - MECHANICAL FEEDERS Reciprocating-Tube Hopper Feeder Centerboard Hopper Feeder Reciprocating-Fork Hopper Feeder External Gate Hopper Feeder Rotary-Disk Feeder Centrifugal Hopper Feeder Stationary-Hook Hopper Feeder Bladed-Wheel Hopper Feeder Tumbling-Barrel Hopper Feeder Rotary-Centerboard Hopper Feeder Magnetic-Disk Feeder Elevating Hopper Feeder Magnetic Elevating Hopper Feeder Magazines References FEED TRACKS, ESCAPEMENTS, PARTS-PLACEMENT MECHANISMS, AND ROBOTS Gravity Feed Tracks Powered Feed Tracks Escapements Parts-Placing Mechanisms Assembly Robots References PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMICS OF ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS Indexing Machines Free-Transfer Machines Basis for Economic Comparisons of Automation Equipment Comparison of Indexing and Free-Transfer Machines Economics of Robot Assembly References DESIGN FOR MANUAL ASSEMBLY Introduction Where Design for Assembly Fits in the Design Process General Design Guidelines for Manual Assembly Development of a Systematic DFA Analysis Method DFA Index Classification System for Manual Handling Classification System for Manual Insertion and Fastening Effect of Part Symmetry on Handling Time Effect of Part Thickness and Size on Handling Time Effect of Weight on Handling Time Parts Requiring Two Hands for Manipulation Effects of Combinations of Factors Threaded Fasteners Effects of Holding Down Problems with Manual Assembly Time Standards Application of the DFA Method Further General Design Guidelines References PRODUCT DESIGN FOR HIGH-SPEED AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY AND ROBOT ASSEMBLY Introduction Design of Parts for High-Speed Feeding and Orienting Example Additional Feeding Difficulties High-Speed Automatic Insertion Example Analysis of an Assembly General Rules for Product Design for Automation Design of Parts for Feeding and Orienting Summary of Design Rules for High-Speed Automatic Assembly Product Design for Robot Assembly References PRINTED-CIRCUIT-BOARD ASSEMBLY Introduction Terminology Assembly Process for PCBs SMD Technology Estimation of PCB Assembly Costs Worksheet and Database for PCB Assembly Cost Analysis PCB Assembly - Equations and Data for Total Operation Cost Glossary of Terms References FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR ASSEMBLY AUTOMATION Machine Design Factors to Reduce Machine Downtime Due to Defective Parts Feasibility Study References Problems Appendix A: Simple Method for the Determination of the Coefficient of Dynamic Friction The Method Analysis Precision of the Method Discussion Reference Appendix B: Out-of-Phase Vibratory Conveyors Out-of-Phase Conveying Practical Applications Reference Appendix C: Laboratory Experiments Performance of a Vibratory-Bowl Feeder Performance of a Horizontal-Delivery Gravity Feed Track Conclusions Appendix D: Feeding and Orienting Techniques for Small Parts Coding System Feeding and Orienting Techniques Orienting Devices for Vibratory-Bowl Feeders Nonvibratory Feeders Nomenclature Index
368 citations
TL;DR: The algorithm proposes that a fence design exists to orient any convex polygonal part defined by a sequence of rational vertices and concludes that the algorithm is complete in the sense that it is guaranteed to find a design if one exists and to terminate with a negative report otherwise.
Abstract: Reviews Peshkin and Sanderson (1988) who showed that parts can be aligned as they move on a conveyor belt against a passive sequence of fences. Describes the first complete algorithm to design such sequences for a given convex polygonal part. The algorithm is complete in the sense that it is guaranteed to find a design if one exists and to terminate with a negative report otherwise. Based on an exact breadth‐first search of the design space, the algorithm is also guaranteed to find the design requiring the fewest fences. Describes the algorithm and compares results with those previously reported. Conjectures that a fence design exists to orient any convex polygonal part defined by a sequence of rational vertices.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical analysis of vibratory feeding on a track vibrating with simple harmonic motion and incorporating the possible states of body motion is presented, where states of motion cover both the contact and non-contact states, and each state of motion is considered separately when determining the equations of motion.
53 citations
22 Apr 1996
TL;DR: Three algorithms for estimating pose distributions based on Monte Carlo simulation using Impulse, which can be computed very rapidly and is more accurate than the quasi-static and the perturbed quasi- static, and which are based on a refinement that takes into account some measure of dynamic stability.
Abstract: In automated assembly lines, part feeders often impose a bottleneck that restricts throughput. To facilitate the design of parts and assembly lines, the authors estimate feedrates based on CAD models of parts. A previous paper (Golberg and Craig, 1995) described how to predict throughput for a vision-based robotic part feeder given the distribution of part poses when parts are randomly dropped on a conveyor belt. Estimating this distribution is also useful for the design of traditional feeders such as vibratory bowls. In this paper the authors describe three algorithms for estimating pose distributions. The authors review the quasi-static estimate reported in Wiegley et al. (1992) and introduce a refinement that takes into account some measure of dynamic stability. The perturbed quasi-static estimate can be computed very rapidly and is more accurate than the quasi-static. Still more accurate are estimates based on Monte Carlo simulation using Impulse, although the latter comes at the penalty of increased computation time. The authors compare estimates from all three algorithms with physical experiments.
51 citations
TL;DR: A class of vibratory bowl filters that can be described by removing polygonal sections from the track are considered, referred to as traps, which will filter out all but one of the different stable orientations of a given part.
Abstract: The vibratory bowl feeder is the oldest and still most common approach to the automated feeding (orienting) of industrial parts. In this paper, the authors consider a class of vibratory bowl filters that can be described by removing polygonal sections from the track; this class of filters is referred to as traps. For an n-sided polygonal part and an m-sided polygonal trap, an O(n2m log n) algorithm is given to decide whether the part in a specific orientation will safely move across the trap or will fall through the trap and thus be filtered out. For an n-sided convex polygonal part and m-sided convex polygonal trap, this bound is improved to O((n+m) log n). Furthermore, the authors show how to design various trap shapes, ranging from simple traps to general polygons, which will filter out all but one of the different stable orientations of a given part. Although the runtimes of the design algorithms are exponential in the number of trap parameters, many industrial part feeders use few-parameter traps (ba...
50 citations