Tip: Eliminating "Dead Spots"

July 19, 2006 | Parts Feeding Tips | 0 Comments »

If you have experienced “dead spots” (places where parts slow down, stop, or even back up) on a track inside the feeder bowl, you will need to identify the source of the problem.

How do you know if the problem is the fault of the bowl or when the problem is the vibratory base unit? Do this:

1. Mark the bowl to show the exact position of the spot.
   • Note its position relative to the base unit.
2. Rotate the bowl on the base unit.
   • Does the spot remain in the same position on the bowl’s track or does it stay in the same position over the base unit?

• If the spot follows the bowl:
  • look for a broken weld in the fabrication or try a counterbalance when the weight of new bowl tooling puts the bowl out of balance.

• If the spot remains over one base unit spring bank:
  • Loosen the top clamping screw and then slowly tighten it while watching the movement of parts as they go over the spot. If the effected area lies between two spring banks, you will want to try the loosening-tightening procedure on each bank.