Minimizing Meltdowns: Tips to Reduce Vibratory Feeder Coil Burnouts and Inefficiencies

ERIE, Pa. - March 5, 2015 - PRLog -- Automation Devices, Inc. (ADI), a vibratory feeder and part system components manufacturer understands customer frustration when it comes to performance issues with your vibratory feeding systems – particularly the base or drive unit.  When equipement isn’t running properly it often shuts down operations, costing time and money.  ADI offers some suggestions for troubleshooting problems that may be affecting the performance of your vibratory base unit to prevent the coil from “melting down” or burning out.

Each vibratory unit has a spring pack specifically matched to the weight and inertia of its respective bowl or track.  This spring pack consists of multiple springs with multiple thicknesses selected to ultimately operate at 60 hz (50 hz overseas).  Once the unit springing is matched to the track or bowl load, the feeder should be correctly tuned to run without the help of frequency altering controllers.  For instance, if a T-8 Inline Feeder is rated for a 3 pound load rating, the load rating will be expressed as the weight of the track only. The weight of the parts traveling over the track is not considered because once operating, the parts never really "rest" on the track. Exceeding a 3 pound load could lead to poor performance of the feeder or cause the coil and armature to strike each other causing excessive noise and coil failure.

A coil never loses its strength. An excessive coil gap is often mistaken for lost strength. Before deciding to replace it, check the gap and make sure it is set correctly. It should be about .060 or under for inlines and approximately .030 for base units. Anything more and the coil will operate inefficiently and may overheat.  Checking functionality can be done by energizing the open coil without the armature.  By turning on the amplitude controller and placing a metal item across the coil, it will be obvious if the coil is good if the items magnetize.

Outputs of your equipment must be set accordingly to complement the vibratory controller.  If the AC linear feeder or AC base unit is being controlled by a DC controller your equipment will not run as it should.  Make sure the controller has the proper output voltage and frequency to match the respective feeder’s coil and springing.

The most common reason for coil meltdown is the wrong input voltage. Ensure that 120 Volt units are plugged into 120 Volt Service. A 120 Volt rated coil does not last much more than a few hours when the input line is 240 Volts. The feeder will run violently until it burns out or overheats the coil.

For more information on the proper use and functionality of a vibratory base unit, or questions regarding troubleshooting equipment, please contact ADI atwww.autodev.com or call Automation Devices, Inc. at 814-474-5561.

Automation Devices, Inc. is a vibratory feeder manufacturer in Fairview, PA specializing in vibratory feeders, centrifugal feeders, hoppers and vibratory controllers and also services all brands of feeding equipment.  ADI offers in stock products and custom designed vibratory feeding systems.