LF Soft

The Soft model of Loop Feeder is a conveyor with parallel belts moving in opposite directions. Ideal for feeding different kind of loose items, which are metered by a vibrating or motorized hopper.

It allows to position the items in a backlit area that is fixed under the special cloth of the most external belt. The robot can easily grip them thanks to a 2D vision system.

Unpicked items keep softly recirculating in a closed loop until reaching the correct position for them to be picked-up.

The challenge

The foreign client is a manufacturer of precision tool machineries. He needed a solution for his robot to be capable of gripping plugs in diameter from 2 to 6 mm. The items did not have to get superficial damages and the classic solution of the vibrating bowl was therefore not suitable.

Further requests:

1) Range of items in variable diameters and lengths;
2) No settings at format change permitted;
3) With defined batches, all items should have to be picked-up before the format change.

The LF SOFT solution

We have suggested the Soft solution, which resulted to be the perfect one for this application. The first feeding hopper has been completely coated and handled in such a way to get controlled progress of the items and vibration. All drop points have been looked after to keep the contact between the items at its lowest. Almost every item arriving at the gripping point was detached from the others and ready to be picked up. Unpicked items did not come back to the hopper but recirculated on the opposite belt.

Final outcome:
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Delicate and controlled handling of the items

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Uniform distribution of the items

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Easy usage and implementation with the client’s robot

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Lack of noise

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Reduced, compact overall dimensions

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Client fully satisfied and committed for other applications

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