Feeders

During the assembly process, a continual flow of various components is needed. There are several different methods for feeding components depending on the given requirements.

For high volumes of a component, a vibrating feeders or step feeders are used. The required technique is dependent on the shape and form of the components and is most suited to smaller plastic and metal components. The feeders are designed to sort and orient the parts in consistent, repeatable positions. Feeding with low takt time and the part is picked from a fixed predefined position. Feeders a suitable for assembly and handling in conjunction with “Pick and Place” or with low cycle times.

With low volumes, a pallet or fixture can be loaded manually. This is best suited to long assembly sequences or when other manual operations are also performed. Many components are suitable for stacking in a magasine, when the component is moved one at a time via a shuttle to the picking position.

A vibrating feeder commonly consists of bowl feeders, the products are loaded in bulk. They vibrate up via the sides of the feeder via traps that ensure the parts have the wrong orientation are resorted. The parts are often transported onwards to a line feeder and finally to the picking position. Line feeders can be vibratory or consist of a conveyor band. AVT have several cost-effective solutions for feeding of diverse components both built in house and direct from our strategic suppliers.