CONTENTS

NO

.

TITLES PAGE

1 Objectives 1

2 Introduction 2

3 Discussion and result 3-4

4 Types 5

5 Types of feeding systems

And Accessories

6

6 Refferences 7

OBJECTIVES

To study the history and function of bowl feeder in industry.

To know about the advantage and disadvantage of bowl feeder.

To study the types of bowl feeder.

To know the flow of feeding systems.

INTRODUCTION

Vibrations have fascinated human beings since a very long time. Virbatory Bowl Feeders are

around since the early part of the Twenthieth Century. No major alternative to a Vibratory

Bowl Feeder has been invented in the meantime. Rotary Feeder which uses a motorised drive

is a very poor cousin of the Vibratory Bowl Feeder.

Vibratory bowl feeders are commonly used for aligning and feeding of small parts. They are

the very versatile and widely used for feeding of parts in an automatic assembly.

DISCUSSION AND RESULT

VIRBATORY BOWL FEEDERS

Vibratory bowl feeders are common devices used to feed individual component parts

for assembly on industrial production lines. They are used when a randomly sorted bulk

package of small components must be fed into another machine one-by-one, oriented in a

particular direction.

Vibratory feeders rely on the mechanical behaviour of a part, such that when gently

shaken down a conveyor chute that is shaped to fit the part, they will gradually be shaken so

that they are all aligned. They thus leave the feeder's conveyor one-by-one, all in the same

orientation. This conveyor then leads directly to the following assembly or packing machine.

Orientation relies on the shape and mechanical behaviour of an object, particular the

position of its centre of mass in relation to its centre of volume. It thus works well for parts

such as machine screws, with rotational symmetry and a clear asymmetry to one heavy end. It

does not work for entirely symmetrical shapes, or where orientation depends on a feature

such as colour. The ramps within a bowl feeder are specifically designed for each part,

although the core mechanism is re-used across different parts.

The exit orientation of a bowl feeder depends on the part's shape and mass

distribution. Where this is not the orientation needed for the following assembly step, a feeder

is often followed by a twisted conveyor that turns the part over, as needed.

With increasing integration across an entire production process, the need for feeders is

sometimes reduced by supplying the components on tape packages or similar, that keep them

oriented the same way during shipping and storage. These are most common in fields such as

electronics, where components must be used in a particular orientation, but this cannot be

detected mechanically.

Vibratory feeders, commonly known as a bowl feeder, are self-contained devices,

consisting of a specially shaped bowl designed to orient the parts to a specific orientation. A

vibrating drive unit, upon which the bowl is mounted and a variable-amplitude control box

controls the bowl feeder. Usually included is an out feed accumulation track (linear or

gravity) to convey parts along and discharge into the assembly machine comes in many

shapes and sizes. The drive unit, available in both electromagnetic and pneumatic drives,

vibrates the bowl, forcing the parts to move up a circular, inclined track. The tooling (hand

made) is designed to sort and orient the parts in to a consistent, repeatable position. The track

length, width, and depth are carefully chosen to suit each application, component shape and

size. Special bowl and track coatings are applied according to shape size and material of the

component which aids traction, damage to the product and lower acoustic levels. A variable

speed control box is used for controlling the vibration speed of the bowl feeder, and can

control the flow of parts to the out feed track via sensors.

Vibratory feeders are utilized by all industries including, the pharmaceutical,

automotive, electronic, food, Fast Moving Consumable Goods (FMCG), packaging and

metalworking industries. It also serves other industries such as glass, foundry, steel,

construction, recycling, pulp and paper, and plastics. Vibratory feeders offer a cost-effective

alternative to manual labour, saving manufacturer’s time and labour costs. Several factors

must be considered when selecting a parts feeder, including the industry, application, material

properties and product volume.

TYPE OF BOWL

Bowl Material Suitable for

Cylindrical bowl Aluminium / stell /

stainless stell

Continuous transport of

components and for

handling small parts

Conical bowl Alumium/Stainless Steel Heavy sharp-edged

components

Larger Loads

Automatic pre-separating

Stepped bowl Aluminum/Stainless Steel Larger loads and larger

components

See also conical Bowls

Polyamidebowl (conical or

stepped)

Small components with

simple geometry and where

mass production of feeders

is required

TYPES OF FEEDING SYSTEMS

Bowl feeders: consists of a bowl top with a spiral track inside the bowl. The component

parts are delivered from the bottom of the bowl feeder up the track into the top of the

feeder as the bowl vibrates. The parts are the positioned in the proper position. These

parts are usually then fed on to a vibratory or air track

Centrifugal feeders: also referred as ‘rotary feeders’, have a conical central driven rotor

surrounded by a circular bowl wall. The feeder separate component parts utilizing rotary

force and the parts revolve with high speed and are pulled to the outside of the bowl.

Step feeders: The component parts are collected from the hopper by elevating plates, pre-

sorted and fed until they reach the desired transfer height. Key features of step feeder are

that it operates quietly and without vibration.

Linear feeders: Horizontal conveying of components. Used to handle irregular supplies of

parts from upstream equipment, creating a buffer store and smooth flow for further

processes. Special application: Multi-track design, carpet feeder

ACCESSORIES

Coating: Bowl feeder coatings Minimise wear and tear, reduces noise and damage to

parts.

Sound enclosure/cover: A foam-lined structure that absorbs the noise created by the

vibratory feeder. Reduce noise and protects against dust and contamination.

Base plates: Enable easy mounting of the drive unit to the machine bed.

Sensors: Minimum/maximum level control on a linear track.

Hopper: Large, bulk container that stores material and regulates parts flow into the

vibratory feeder system.

REFFRENCES

http://blog.elscintautomation.com/post/WHAT-IS-A-VIBRATORY-BOWL-

FEEDER-ITS-USES-AND-WORKING.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowl_feeder