Vibratory Feeder With Integrated Vision System Orients Parts Based On Internal Features

This vibratory feeder was designed to feed a metal washer into a machine assembling a consumer product. While flat, round parts like washers are normally easy to feed, this part had a small indentation on one side that needed to be oriented facing down.

Because the indentation was an internal feature that could not be oriented mechanically, the bowl feeder oriented the parts laying flat without concern for top to bottom orientation.

A vision system was mounted over the vibratory bowl tooling right before the discharge to check the top to bottom orientation. If an improperly oriented part was detected, the PLC that controlled the vision system activated an air jet which blew the part off the track and back into the bowl feeder for recirculation.

These two photos show the vision system monitor with images of a good (left) and bad (right) part.

The PLC that controlled the vision system was mounted in the junction box to the left of the camera, with the camera’s monitor mounted on the front of the box.

A straight line track powered by a 3-spring vibratory inline driver transferred the oriented parts between the vibratory feeder and the customer’s assembly station.

View this short video that demonstrates the vibratory feeder bowl orienting the parts prior to visual inspection. Improperly oriented parts are detected by the vision system and are blown back into the bowl for recirculation. Correctly oriented parts are fed into the straight line track which transfers the parts to the customer’s assembly station.

System specifications

• Feed Rate: 25 parts per minute.
• Input voltage: 120V, 60 Hz.
• Vibratory bowl:
  • 10″ basic diameter.
  • Counterclockwise rotation.
  • Bead blasted stainless steel construction.
• Vibratory straight line track:
  • 36″ long.
  • Stainless steel construction.
  • 3-spring vibratory inline driver.
• Bulk supply hopper:
  • 1/4 cu. ft. capacity with table mount.
  • Stainless steel bin and tray.
• Vision system: Keyence camera with proximity sensor and PLC.
• Controls: Performance Feeders PF-3R.
• Mounting surface: 1.25″ thick steel table with 4 legs and leveling screws.
• Sensors and valves provided:
  • Photoelectric sensor on straight line track monitoring part level in track. When track is full, the bowl is turned off to prevent parts from backing up into the bowl.
  • Proximity sensor on hopper monitoring parts level in bowl, turning on hopper when parts are needed.
  • Proximity sensor on bowl feeder in camera area, sensing part in place for vision inspection.
  • Solenoid valve package with regulator and flow controls for air jets.