Position: In this page,you will learn the vibratory feeders application for parts sorting.
Probably one of the least used applications for part feeding is in the area of part sorting.
In today's highly competitive, quality certified, over-analysed, paper heavy manufacturing environment, anything that contributes to reducing the chance of a defect getting through the process to the end user is a considerable 'leg-up'.
Applications range from sorting fasteners by length to feeding a subassembly with tooling designed to 'check' for missing components.
Even when more accurate measures are required for final inspection, vibratory feeders with part sorting features can make that process even more efficient by gleaning out the most obvious defects early on.
On more than a few applications, part feeding can be readily combined with vision or sensing devices that will take measurements that can quickly remove flawed pieces from the feed line and ultimately from getting to valued customers.
At this point users may even improve the bottom line by recovering misassembled, damaged or defective components and getting them right the second time around.
As an example how sorting can be accomplised in a vibratory feeder, Action Feed Systems recently shipped a multiple-stage sorting unit to a rivet manufacturer in Puerto Rico.
Typically, one size of rivet is being manufactured and checked on any given shift, while other sizes are manufactured in the same area of the factory and are processed using the very same equipment.
Murphy's Law being what it is, various sizes of rivets inevitably end up in the same bins and tubs.
To reduce this type of product mixing to the minimum, each batch is fed through a feed system developed to remove various rivets by length at speeds of around 600 parts per minute.
The operator has adjustable control over three part removal blades.
Each blade can be set to sort out parts within a specified length range and has a chute that conveys the sorted rivets out to the appropriate bulk storage bin.
Each application varies and closer tolerances may be better detected using other methods (as the vibration of the feeding system may move the part 0.005-0.007in during operation, differences less than 0.010in are usually out of range).
Still, after figuring in the durability and dependability of a properly designed feed system into the equation, sorting or presorting using this method may make for a noticeable improvement in QC operations which ultimately translates into greater customer satisfaction and for the long term, the bottom line can't be far behind that.
A quality weighing controller is enable the feeder equipments work more safely and efficiently.
