Parts Feeding Machinery Concepts
SPECTRUM AUTOMATION COMPANYSpectrum Automation Company offers you this brief, simplistic description of several feeder concepts with critical comments. It will acquaint you with a variety of parts feeding methods for your best performance choices.
Spectrum has a full menu of parts feeder concepts and over thirty years experience in offering the best of them.
Best feeder concept choices depend upon a full knowledge of the parts to be fed; their design, condition, and environment. That information, coupled with broad feeder experience, is essential to success.
You need the following information before contacting feeder suppliers:
A. Latest part or process print(s) with complete, toleranced dimensions.
B. Three sample parts in their feed condition.
C. Part condition: clean - dirty - dry - wet (fluid?) - dripping (fluid?) - soft - hard - special coatings - residual magnetism - delicate (how, where) - burrs - chips - tramp material (what) - mixed parts.
D. Floor space availability.
E. Height restrictions.
F. Storage required in hours? pieces? cubic feet?
G. Production rate, cycle time.
H. Orientation at discharge.
I. Number of paths, spread pattern, and discharge height.
Here are some facts and comments about feeder concepts for your parts feeding projects:
FIGURE 1:
Rising labor costs, larger parts, and higher production rates called for automatic backup storage of production parts for orienting feeders. Bulk storage bins of one to six cubic feet capacity were developed to meter parts, on call, from a sensor, to typical orientor reservoirs.
A slot in the bin bottom is sized to allow free flow of material to a metering device. Either a conveyor or vibratory trough is activated to flow meter parts to an orientor reservoir. Flow rates are inconsistent, but good enough for a backup supply.
Where parts move too freely, a pneumatic gate is provided to stop the flow.
Normally such bulk storage bins are used to supply the familiar bowl feeder reservoir.