Orienting small parts with passive juggling

Motivated by the problems of flexible manufacturing and parts feeding in sensorless assembly, a flat, level vibrating table is proposed as a means of orienting small parts for assembly. Ideas inspired by academic literature regarding juggling and dynamic manipulation are used to design an oscillatory motion of the table for simple 1 and 3 degree of freedom parts. Passive juggling, in which a part is repeatedly caught and tossed by the table without sensing or feedback, forms the fundamental manipulation strategy. The oscillation is intended to ensure attraction to a predetermined orientation from any initial orientation within a few seconds, without the need for sensing or fixtures. Preliminary simulation results suggest the feasibility of this approach.