Automatic Feeder for Hardness Testing Equipment

Abstract

This paper presents the development of the concept of automating the process of feeding the rocker arm bearing shafts into the hardness testing equipment. The present system used in industry for feeding is a manual feeding of the rocker arm bearing shafts (RABS) into the hardness testing equipment. A labourer feeds each and every component by hand, picking up 10-15 components at a time and then feeds it into the hardness testing equipment one by one. The eddy current principle is used here to check the hardness of the component. Hardness testing of components is done to ensure the rocker arm bearing shafts meet the hardness standard to ensure that it works for the designed purpose without any failure. The proposed system is an automated process. Suitable mechanical and electronic components are used to achieve automation and a finalized concept was generated. The proposed system consists of an automatic vibratory feeder bowl, a pneumatic double acting cylinder and proximity sensors. When the components are placed in the vibratory bowl due to the action of the feeder the components get stacked up then moves through a chute and then it will be pushed into the hardness testing equipment with the help of a double acting cylinder. The sensors are used to monitor and control the feeding process.