Vibratory Feeding

Abstract

A brief review of previous work on the mechanics of vibratory conveying is presented followed by a new theoretical analysis of vibratory feeding on a track which vibrates with simple harmonic motion and where a phase difference may exist between the parallel and normal components of the track motion. For a wide range of practical conditions, the theoretical predictions are found to agree closely with the results of experimental tests. These show that certain fundamental limitations exist in the performance of conventional feeder drives where the two components of track motion are in-phase. From further theoretical and experimental work, it is shown that under conditions where the appropriate phase difference exists between the two components of track motion, many practical advantages over conventional vibratory feeding are obtained. With a new design of vibratory bowl feeder drive based on the results of the work, significantly higher conveying velocities may be obtained under stable feeding conditions and, further, these high conveying velocities are virtually independent of the coefficient of friction between the component and the track. The results of the present work apply equally to the design of spiral elevators and in-line vibratory feeders.