Blades: a new class of geometric primitives for feeding 3D parts on vibratory tracks

The vibratory bowl feeder remains the most common approach to the automated feeding (orienting) of industrial parts. We study the algorithmic design of devices on the bowl feeder track that filter out all but one orientation of a given polyhedral part. In this context, we propose a simple new primitive, consisting of one horizontally mounted convex polygonal metal "blade", that can feed a broad class of three-dimensional parts by reorienting and rejecting all but those in a desired orientation. This powerful new 3D geometric feeding primitive combines the reorientation functionality of fences with the rejection functionality of traps. Due to its simplicity, the proposed primitive allows for the development of methods to automate its design process. We present a complete procedure that takes as input any polyhedral part along with its center of mass. Given this input, the procedure identifies all single blade solutions that feed the part. The output is either the set of all valid blade designs or a notification that the part cannot be fed using a single blade