Optimizing the performance of vibratory feeder

This work is to investigate the parameters affecting the conveying velocity of a vibratory feeder, which is utilized to convey miniature assembly components. Vibratory feeders are most commonly used for the transportation and automatic orientation of parts in the assembly line. Vibratory feeders are either bowl or linear type. Linear feeders are capable of producing high feed rates. The simple switching on and off of electro-magnets is converted into mechanical vibrations. This study determines the parameters and the relation between them so as to obtain the maximum conveying velocity of the vibrator feeder and hence reduce the time of conveyance by optimizing the parameters. The parameters and relation between them aredetermined by conducting several experiments, which use different materials as the track and parts with different surface area. The response for different factors is taken into consideration to find the relation between the factors and the response. The study also focuses on finding the optimal solution for maximizing the conveying velocity using Taguchi optimization method. This work is a precursor to design a controller to maximize the conveying velocity from the regression equation obtained fromthe analysis.