Aerodynamic Part Feeding Technology - Flexible High-Speed Part Provision for Mass Production

Abstract

Manufacturing companies in high-wage countries can pursue two strategies to make up for their competitive disadvantage due to the unfavourable cost structure. They can either resort to an individualisation of the products or make use of economies of scale in production by high numbers. Only very few companies however are able to reconcile both strategies. One way to meet these requirements is in the use of flexible, automated systems. Here, the feeding process for automated, flexible assembly systems often represents a bottleneck. Conventional feeding systems come up against their limits. They are often only able to achieve the required output as redundant systems, and they are limited in their flexibility and set-up capability due to the mechanical design. Innovative solution approaches in this field can be offered by the aerodynamic orientation technology and the aerodynamic separation technology. In contrast to conventional feeding systems, these processes, due to their basic operating principle, already have high potential with regard to variant neutrality, flexibility and output. Aerodynamic part orientation technology takes advantage of the asymmetry of workpieces in order to orientate them with the aid of air impulses. In the case of aerodynamic part separation technology, workpieces are separated from a pile of material by an air vortex and individually transported out of the system. It has been shown that these technologies, due to their functional principle and the simple mechanical construction as compared to conventional systems, offer greater flexibility, are less prone to failures and can in some cases more than double the output.