Automatic Spring Separator

Application Study

Feeding springs with open spring ends requires special attention. This type of spring is – if filled in as bulk material in a stockpiling hopper – strongly tangle up and therefore useless for the following process. By using RNA’s automatic spring separator within the feeding process, it becomes possible to feed the springs individually to the following process.
 

Task

Pressure springs with a diameter of 4.31 x 11.8 mm should be fed individually to the following process at a rate of 50 parts per minute. Due to their open ends, single springs keep getting tangled up as soon as they lie together in larger quantities. Accordingly, one must avoid the springs from accumulating during the entire feeding process.

Detailed functional sequence and features of this feeding system

A horizontal hopper is filled homogeneously. From here, a controlled amount of springs runs over a grate and into the vibratory bowl feeder underneath. Then, the springs are first transported upward over the spirals where they are pre sorted, and finally reach the spring separator arranged in parallel over a “bypass”. The separator throws the springs one by one in free flight as bulk material onto the final sorting line of the vibratory bowl feeder. In order to avoid the further transport of springs completely caught up in one another and showing the dimension of one single spring, they are then put onto a camera belt. A vision sensor now checks whether there are still any tangled springs. These tangled springs, the same as those that show an insufficient gap distance, are sent back into the parts circulation with a compressed-air pulse. In order to avoid an accumulation of springs, they are transported over a 90° arch into a vertical accumulation chamber system and clocked individually to the customer’s assembly test station. If the accumulation chambers are already fully occupied, the springs will be blown at once onto the preceding camera belt.