Good Vibratory Bowl Feeders are generally maintenance-free. They should only be thoroughly cleaned when they are considerably dirty or after fluids i.e. oil / coolant / water etc. have been spilled over them.

-          While doing this, first unplug the mains plug.

-          Remove the Cover (Guard) covering the Base Unit / Drive Unit of the Vibratory Feeder.

-          Clean the inside of the Vibratory Bowl Feeder, especially the gap between the Coil and Magnet

-          Check the Gap between the Magnet and the Coil. It should be maintained as given in the maintenance manual of the manufacturer.

-          Tighten all Screws, as they have a tendency of getting loose due to Vibrations over time.

-          After mounting the Cover (Guard) and plugging in the mains plug, the Vibratory Bowl Feeder is ready for operation again.

1. Untooled Bowl - A untooled bowl consists of a vertical band and a domed bottom with either an external helical track or an internal helical track. The internal track can also be inverted. It means a basic bowl which has not been tooled (adapted for the parts / components to be fed & oriented)

2. Tooled Bowl - It means a basic bowl after tooling it (adapted for the parts / components to be fed & oriented). The tooling is custom designed for a particular component orientation & feed rate / speed.

3.  Orientation - The correct position of the part / component at the discharge chute as required by the assembly or placing operation.

4. Feed rate - The number of parts discharged per minute or hour, as needed to maintain production requirements.

5. Internal Tooling - Tooling / structure / plates / wipers etc. attached in the bowl for orienting the part in the required manner.

6. External tooling - The structure / tooling / plates etc. attached to the outer band for the purpose of recirculating parts, to the inside of the bowl, that have been rejected by the orienting and selection devices.

7. Final Selector - A tooled section designed specifically to segregate only those parts that are in the correct attitude.

8. Air Jet - A small diameter tube mounted in place which is sometimes used to assist part movement. It is adjusted in the process of development to assist in orientation or final selection with the minimum amount of air pressure.

9. Slot - An area with a stationary or adjustable gap which orients parts (bolts, screws, etc.) to a "hanging orientation". 

10. Pre-orientor - Tooling to change the orientatino of a part to the proper position for final selection. A pre-orientor will generate higher feed rates and minimize recirculation of the parts, thus extending the life of the bowl, especially with regard to metal or abrasive parts. 

11. Back pressure Relief - An area of the bowl tooling just prior to the entrance to confinement where the parts will buckle if the discharge is full and recirculate in the bowl. This relieves part pressure which would otherwise cause jamming conditions or misoriented parts to bridge across the bowl tooling.

12. Full Track Sensor / Auto-Switch Off Mechanism - A means of providing a pressure relief when the parts will not efficiently bubble-off of their own accord. This device can be either a proximity, fiber optic, or pneumatic type sensor to signal the feeder to start or stop. Also a sensor can activate an air jet to eject excess parts from the entrance to confinement, in which case the 'bowl would continue to run (this is mostly used with multiple track bowls).

13. Discharge Chute - A short section of track that is mounted to the bowl. The discharge chute controls parts in the orientation, achieved in the bowl and in most cases, conveys them to either to a horizontal vibratory straight line linear track or a gravity track.

14. Confinement - A containing section used to control parts through the discharge chute. Confinements are designed in a manner to allow access to the parts by removal of "bolt-on" sections in most cases.

15. Dust Hole - A dust hole is used to discharge small particles of foreign material from the bowl without interfering with flow of the piece parts.

16. Quick Dump Chute - A quick-opening "window" that is provided to facilitate changing from one part to another when multiple styles or sizes of parts are being fed from the same bowl.

17. Counter weight / balance - A solid steel block of predetermined size and weight that is added to the exterior of the bowl. The location is determined on a counter-balance wheel, in order to offset the weight of the external tooling, etc. (static balance).

18. Storage Hopper - A storage hopper is used to hold extra parts for replenishing the supply in the bowl. Hoppers are set to operate automatically by a signal from a level control switch, thus eliminating either a deficiency or an over-supply of parts in the bowl.

19. Silo - A storage hopper mounted above the bowl which is used to hold extra parts for replenishing the supply in the bowl. The parts move down from the silo as and when they find place. The silo design is made in such a way that the weight of the parts kept in the silo does not come on the bowl / vibrator.

20. Gravity Track - Gravity tracks  are methods of conveying parts. This type track must be set on an angle great enough that gravity will convey the parts from the discharge chute of the feeding system.

21. Magazine - This is also a method of conveying parts. A magazine is a track in which oriented parts are stacked.

22. Escapement / Singulator - A pnuematic device placed at the end of the feeder discharge, horizontal straight line or gravity track to isolate the end part.

23. Drive Unit / Driver / Base Unit - The force used to power the drive unit is accomplished by using one or more electromagnetic coils which act upon pole face plates to generate vibratory motion. The upper and lower members of the drive unit are constrained by leaf springs causing torsional vibration which is transferred to the top member in the form of feed motion. When the drive unit moves the parts at maximum efficiency with minimum current effort, the unit is said to be tuned to a natural frequency of the power source. The mass and diameter of the feeder bowl is the determining factor in tuning the unit. As this mass or diameter is increased, more leaf springs must be added. The rubber feet of the base drive play an important part in allowing the lower member of the drive unit to act as a pendulum to power the bowl.

24. Coil Noise - A warning sound which indicates that the coil gap is set too close, causing the pole faces to strike. This condition will result in damage to the drive unit if not corrected.

25. Tuning - Proper tuning is an important factor in achieving maximum speed. When a drive unit is improperly tuned (over or under-sprung) the spring tension does not correspond with the natural frequency of the feeder mass. Either condition prevents the mass from returning to its neutral position before the next magnetic pulse takes over thus restricting the full motion each 1/2 a second. Normal 50 Hz current produces 100 magnetic cycles per second, and transmits 100 mechanical cycles per second to the bowl. Tuning the unit to a natural frequency of either 50 Hz or 100 Hz, for proper balance between coil assembly energy development and spring tension, is of utmost importance to a smooth and efficient feed system. At this balance point it should be noted that parts will feed at maximum efficiency with minimum current draw. The addition or removal of springs may be necessary to obtain the balance needed. The same principles apply for 50 Hz except one half of the magnetic pulse is cut out, leaving only 50 mechanical movements per second (sometimes referred to as 1/2 wave or rectified current). The air gap between the coil assembly and armature plate is important. If the air gap needs to be reset, adjust it so the pole faces are as close as possible without striking. This will generate maximum power with minimum amperage draw. If the air gap is too small, the coil will clatter; if too large, the energy will not be used efficiently, causing the coil to overheat.

26. Linear Vibrators / Straight Line Drive Units / Vibratory Tracks - Linear vibrators / straight line drive unit is designed to produce linear vibratory motion. It is used to power tracks that convey parts horizontally from the feeder bowl discharge to a dead nest or mechanism. It operates on same principles of Base Drive Unit.

27. Isolation Springs - The lower spring packs that act to absorb vibratory motion and transmit it to the body of the straight line drive unit.

28. Shims - The small parts placed between two springs

29. Rubber Grommets - Anti-vibration mounts kept to ensure that the vibrations of the vibratory feeder are not transfered to the bottom base plate.

30. Coating / Lining - Coating of polyurethane either spray coated or pasted to ensure that the life of the bowl increases and extra friction is created.

31. Oil Drain - A hole with a plug to ensure that excess oil accumulated in the bowl over time is drained out.

Elscint manufactures an Auto loading & unloading system for centreless grinding machines for longer length shafts having length from 150 mm upto 1 metre. These shafts being of long length, they cannot be fed from a vibratory bowl feeder. Feeding a variety of shafts of various lengths and diameters also is not possible throught a vibratory bowl feeder. Hence, keeping in view these problems, Elscint has developed the Auto Loading & Unloading System. The Shafts have to be kept on an inclined table, from where a pneumatic cylinder singles out and feeds one shaft at a time to a belt conveyor which further feeds the shaft to the centreless grinding machine. After the grinding operation is over, there is a special Elscint unloading belt convyeor by which the shaft is taken out and turned around with the help of a transfer station and fed to another Elscint belt conveyor which conveys it back to near the loading station at an unloading collection station and the shafts are aligned there ready for inspection / for the second pass through the centreless grinding machine. Special care is taken so that the shafts do not collide and push each other so that the quality of the ground shafts is maintained. This way, only one operator can do the loading and unloading of two to three machines and productivity can be increased tremendously.

Elscint manufactures a special type of vibratory bowl feeder where Dry Cell Battery Caps (Top Cap as well as Bottom Cap) are fed at a very high speed. Dry Cell Batteries manufacturing is a continous process industry, which works 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Hence, a highly reliable Vibratory Bowl Feeder is required which not only feeds the Components at a very high speed but also does so without any stoppage or downtime. Elscint Vibratory Bowl Feeders give reliable and consistent performance for years and hence are the first choice for Dry Cell Battery Manufacturers worldwide. Speeds of upto 200 to 250 pieces per Minute for Caps having sizes of 30 mm and upto 800 Pieces Per Minute for Caps having sizes of 15 mm are possible after orientation in the correct position. Though, Elscint Vibratory Bowl Feeders come in five different Models, mostly Vibratory Bowl Feeder Model 250 and Model 400 are suitable for these applications depending upon the Components. Elscint uses a very specially constructed bowl called outer track bowl. This helps in providing high speeds with the correct orientation. This perfected technique even helps in providing high speed even without the use of air for orientation and speed improvement.

Vibratory bowls can be made in a variety of material like cast aluminium, mild steel, stainless steel, polyamide, etc. Each of these materials has certain advantages as well as disadvantages. Bowls made of mild steel are not long lasting due to rusting and not so wear resistance. Over time, their performance deteriorates drastically. Aesthetic wise too, it does not look good. Hence, it is not recommended to select mild steel bowls. Polyamide bowls have certain advantages like machining ease and repeatability but the disadvantages are the size (small) and type (conical). Step design bowls, which provide a lot of tooling flexibility, convenience and high loading volumes are not always possible in case of polyamide bowls. These disadvantages are not there in stainless steel and cast aluminum bowls. The advantages of these types of bowls are tooling flexibility, convenience and high loading volume. Secondly, it is possible to provide irregular and complicated bowl tooling and shapes in case of stainless steel fabricated bowls. The biggest advantage of stainless steel bowls is the tooling flexibility they provide. However, in case, a stainless steel bowl is not properly made / fabricated, then the bowl feeder will always give some sort of problems to the user. Secondly, the chance of “dead patch” on the bowl is very high in case of stainless steel bowls. This is not so with cast aluminum bowls. Being cast, they work very well and can provide very good feed rates. Stainless steel bowls are also more costly than cast aluminum ones. The advantages of using cast aluminum bowls are the ease and speed of tooling and lower cost. Another big advantage is that the tooling can be modular. It can be changed easily in case the component which is being fed changes. This makes aluminum bowls very versatile and most suitable for usage. Proper coating is required for all cast aluminum bowls. Elscinthane spray able polyurethane coating is the best choice for cast aluminum and stainless steel bowls. Not only does the coating reduce the noise level in case of metallic components drastically by eliminating the metal to metal contact, but the life and performance of the bowl improves drastically. The Elscinthane bowl linings are available in various thicknesses ranging from 0.40 mm to even upto 2 mm and above. Elscinthane spray able polyurethane coatings have very high shore hardness and this increases the life of the bowl tremendously. In case of stainless steel bowls, cylindrical bowls are possible but they have a lot of disadvantages like jamming of components between the tracks, less area for tooling, low loading capacity etc. Another possibility in case of stainless steel is outer track bowls. These are costlier to make but have a lot of inherent advantages like high loading capacity, optimum area for tooling. In case there is a requirement for high speed and complicated orientation, then outer track bowl is the only solution. However, the disadvantage is the high cost of such bowls. The time taken for making such bowls too is more. Selection of the right type of material and shape for a bowl feeder has repercussions on the continuous maintenance free working of the bowl feeder in the long run and hence the proper material and shape of the bowl is very important. Before ordering a bowl feeder, the customer should discuss with the bowl feeder manufacturer about the shape and the material he has planned for the bowl and the reasons for the same. Though these are usually the prerogative of the bowl feeder manufacturer, the customer, being the user of the bowl, should try to get the reasons behind the same. Secondly, while selecting the type of material and shape for a bowl feeder, one should check whether the bowl feeder manufacturer has the required coating expertise and technology, otherwise, the life of the bowl reduces and feeding too becomes problematic and erratic.