Automation engineers have developed ingenious ways to mechanically singulate and orient parts in a feeder bowl. For example, if you need to feed a cylindrical part longitudinally, you can use a “wiper”—a small projection on the side of the feed track. Parts that are lying down will pass under the wiper; parts that are standing upright will be knocked over. A notch along the outside of the track will provide additional sorting. Parts that are travelling end to end along the bowl wall will bypass the notch, but parts that are travelling perpendicular to the bowl wall will encounter the notch and fall to the bottom of the bowl.
Sometimes, however, wipers, notches, gates and other mechanical tricks are not enough to singulate and orient parts. This was the situation faced recently by Suzhou Huilide Machine Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of parts feeding equipment in Suzhou, China, and an exhibitor at the 2021 ASSEMBLY Show.