Orienting parts with a vibrating table
Orienting parts with a vibrating table
Keyword: Parts feeding
This page contains a paper titled "Orienting parts with a vibrating table",written by Peter Swanson, a PhD graduate of the University of Michigan. It introduces a flat, three degree of freedom actively controlled vibrating table. The table is proposed as a cost-effective means of orienting multiple identical small parts before feeding them to machine tools or robots in an industrial setting. By proper adjustment of the table's motion parameters it is hoped to be able to orient a wide variety of shapes and sizes with no need for direct sensory information. Economic and industrial justifications for this approach are presented. A strategy is suggested for developing the requisite stability analysis of the non-linear dynamical system induced by the intermittent coupling between table and parts. The mechanics of friction and collision are also explored, as they relate to the problem of bouncing small objects on the table. The results of a simplified two-dimensional simulation are shown.
Jonathan Rigelsford
