Designing parts feeders using dynamic simulation

Considers the problem of designing traditional (e.g. vibratory bowl) feeders for singulating and orienting industrial parts. The ultimate goal is to prototype new designs using analytically- and geometrically-based methods. The authors have developed a tool for designing industrial parts feeders based on dynamic simulation. The authors' tool allows them to automatically perform multiple feeder design experiments, and to evaluate their outcomes. These results can then be used to compute the probabilities of a Markov model for the feeder. To demonstrate the technique, the authors present preliminary results for the design of two simple feeders. The findings suggest that using dynamic simulation is a promising approach for designing parts feeders.