Vibrating Feeder
A vibrating or vibratory feeder is a feeder that uses vibrations to feed bulk materials into a production process in a controlled manner.
What distinguishes vibrating feeders?
Material is transported to the outlet via a chute or tray by means of vibrational motion. Kubota Brabender Technologie uses a vibrating tray for this purpose, calling the corresponding devices vibrating tray feeders.
This feeding principle is particularly well-suited for free-flowing and fragile bulk materials that must be conveyed gently and without use of a screw.
How does a vibrating feeder or vibrating tray feeder work?
A vibrating drive causes the vibrating tray to oscillate at a specific frequency, which moves the bulk material toward the outlet. The oscillation amplitude can be modified to adjust the conveying rate, and thus the feed rate.
Vibrating feeders can be operated volumetrically or gravimetrically. In a gravimetric system based on the loss-in-weight principle, the feeder and hopper are weighed. The actual mass flow is determined based on the weight loss that occurs during material discharge, and the feed rate is adjusted accordingly.
Gentle feeding of fragile bulk materials
Since material is moved by vibration and does not pass through a screw, the process is characterized by low mechanical stress on the bulk material. This is particularly advantageous for fragile materials.
Whether a vibrating feeder is suitable for an application depends in large part on the material properties. In addition to flowability, factors like particle size, bulk density, and the required feed rate play a part. For cohesive or poor-flowing bulk materials, other feeding principles like screw feeding may be more suitable.