Development of a flexible and programmable parts feeding system

This paper describes the development of a flexible and programmable vibratory bowl feeding system which is suitable for use in a flexible manufacturing system. Controlled by computer and driven by electro-pneumatic cylinders and stepper motors, this feeding system is capable of identifying the orientations of non-rotational parts and actively re-orientating them into the desired orientation. Three different neural network modules (ARTMAP, ART2 and Back-propagation) were tested for their suitability for the orientation recognition system. The system developed extends the capability of conventional bowl feeders to include feeding parts with only internal features, and feeding a family of similar parts without costly re-tooling. These features are well suited to applications in flexible manufacturing systems.