Vibratory Parts Feeding Tips

Bowl Tooling is seen as a "Black Art" since some of the techniques are often undocumented, misunderstood or simply taken for granted. The items below aim to provide feeder bowl users a clearer understanding of the basic tooling stages within a bowl and the purpose of each.

Automation Devices is always willing to discuss and provide guidance on bowl tooling. Never hesitate to contact with any questions.

Bowl Tooling Fundamentals: Part I - Wipers

A reliable feeding process starts with a consistent and congruent product free of flashes, burrs, oil and other Just like any inspection device, a bowl's tooling can only inspect one item at a time. Therefore, it is imperative to the successful operation of a bowl that the orienting stages of tooling are presented with a singulated part. The following tooling principles assist with singulation.

Wipers

A wiper is used to reduce the level of the parts on the track to one product height tall. Where a wiper is located is usually dependant on several factors. The most important factor is usually that it reduces the level of parts prior to tooling that may be affected from parts underneath. For instance, a spill-off may not work properly if the parts that are supposed to fall off can't because of interference from parts on the track below.

Design Tips:

• A wiper must be fit to the rise in the track. It often works best when the clearance between the part and the wiper is kept constant. In other words, make sure the wiper is tapered to the rise in the track If it is not, parts will often jam or wedge under the wiper because of the tapered relationship between the track and a wiper positioned on the horizontal plane. Thinning of parts early on in the bowl allows gaps in production to close up before discharge which keeps production at a maximum.
  
  
• Make sure the wiper extends from the bowl wall enough so that parts will fall off the track and not work their way around the tooling.

The next feeder tip posting will feature the use of Spill-Offs.
Be sure to contact ADI with any questions. Our engineers are always eager to help.