Balanced feeder design: An alternative to vibratory bowl feeders

Abstract

Linear vibratory feeders and vibratory bowl feeders are widely used as part feeders in mass production industries. Making the helical track of the bowl feeder requires special tooling. This makes it expensive to adapt to product changes. Linear feeders are simpler in construction and relatively flexible enough to accommodate a variety of products. This paper provides an alternate design to vibratory bowl feeders. A balanced feeder experimental setup with wiper blades was developed and optimized to maximize the conveying velocity with no part clogging.