Comparing Feeding Technologies

Feeding systems are designed to accumulate and convey oriented parts to downstream packaging equipment. Today’s automated packaging lines are growing in complexity, and the success of these lines is often dependent on expert product handling.

To prepare product for downstream processing, it must be sorted, oriented, allocated, and positioned quickly and accurately, all without product damage.

Here we will compare two standard pieces of feeding equipment, the vibratory bowl and the centrifugal bowl, as well as introduce an innovative new machine called the VersaSort. Each machine suits different feeding applications.

Vibratory Bowls

Electro-magnetically generated vibrations produce movement in the bowl forcing product to move up a radial, inclined track. The product moves in small jumps along the circular track of the feeder, encountering tooling that is designed to sort and orientate the parts in a consistent position. The track dimensions and tooling are dependent on the shape of the product, specifically the product’s center of mass in relation to its center of volume. Because of this, the vibratory bowl is best suited for products with asymmetric shape – such as syringes with one heavy end.

Pros

• Vibratory bowls are suitable for many applications – tooling can orientate a wide variety of part shapes and the systems themselves are quite durable, making them suitable for heavy metal parts
• Vibratory bowls come at a relatively low price point in relation to other feeders
• They take up little floor space

Cons

• While vibratory bowls are suitable for many applications, they are inflexible in that mechanical tooling limits each bowl to just one product or family of similar products
• This feeder works at a slower speed and rate than other feeders
• Vibratory bowls can cause damage to sensitive products due to vibrations, i.e. electronics
• Vibratory bowls can be noisy to operate

Centrifugal Bowls

Centrifugal feeders consist of a center disc mounted to a bowl. The disc and the bowl rotate independently of each other at variable speeds. Product is delivered to the rotating bowl from a bulk feeder. Centrifugal force brings the product to the raised edge of the feeder disc and forces it past tooling designed to move the products into a common orientation. Additional tooling will reject any product that is not orientated correctly and that product will recirculate in the bowl.

Pros

• Centrifugal bowls can process product at much higher rates than vibratory bowls
• Less damage than vibratory bowls due to no vibration
• Quieter to operate than vibratory bowls

Cons

• Centrifugal bowls subject heavy products to quite a bit of centrifugal force. Some products (such as electronics) cannot stand up to that force without risking damage
• Centrifugal feeders rely on large diameter bowls to generate enough force to move heavy products – taking up valuable floor space
• Centrifugal bowls often subject product to recirculation within the bowl. Recirculation is inefficient and subjects the product to cosmetic scuffing and damage

The VersaSort