Trouble Shooting Vibratory Feeders Part 2 - Dead Spots in the Feeder Bowl
Dead spots usually appear suddenly, however they can develop gradually. They are always caused by some imbalance in the springing assuming that the feeder once worked satisfactorily. The presence of tooling added after factory tuning can cause dead spots and is usually noticed immediately upon operation after the addition.
Ways to Balance a Feeder:
- Counter-weights
- Adjusting the torque on the bottom end of the springs (tighten or loosen the bolts on the bottom end of the springs)
- in extreme cases, add springs.
Other Causes of Dead Spots
Spring Bolts A bolt that holds the springs in position can loosen or break. Of course, broken bolts must be replaced. Caution must be taken to use only thru-hardened bolts, as the load on them is high. Case hardened or mild steel bolts will fail quickly.
A loose or a cut foot can cause a dead spot.
A broken spring can cause a dead spot. Checking for this is covered above.
The support or stand upon which the feeder sits can cause a dead spot. This is true especially if the support is light to begin with. If the support loosens in one direction and not the other it can cause several kinds of problems.
The bowl not fastened to the drive unit tight enough will cause a dead spot. This is true especially on bowls held on with three or more bolts and one of them loosens.
