The system consists of an EYEFEEDER^®, a vision system and a robot. Products are fed from a lift conveyor or a bulk feeder on the belt / surface of the EYEFEEDER^®. The shaking system of the EYEFEEDER^® spreads or turns the products in the detection area of the vision system. The vision system detects well positioned products and passes the coordinates of those to the robot that picks the products and places the products, when necessary, with high precision on a required position. If there are not enough well-positioned products, the vision system gives the EYEFEEDER^® the command to shake / spread to reposition the products. If there are no or few products , the vision system gives the bulk feeder a command to supply new products.

EYEFEEDER^® :
The EYEFEEDER^® is a patented flexible feeder based on a conveyor belt with a shake system both driven by servomotors. Belt speed, shake-intensity and shake-patterns are easy to set on the DENSO Teaching Pendant which allows a quick product change. The software and hardware (controller / drivers / servomotors) are fully integrated in the DENSO robot controller which makes additional drivers, PLC’s or IPC’s unnecessary. The EYEFEEDER^® is available in three sizes and can be equipped with different belt types or with back-light to facilitate easier detection.

MINI EYEFEEDER^®:
The MINI EYEFEEDER^® is a patented feeder with a pneumatic shaking system. The software of the MINI EYEFEEDER^® is integrated in the DENSO robot controller and communication take place via parallel I/O’s. Optimal spreading of the products can be obtained by selecting different shaking patterns on the DENSO Teaching Pendant. Its small dimensions make compact applications setup possible. The MINI EYEFEEDER^® comes standard with back-light.

Vision system:
Depending on the kind of product to be handled, any kind of vision system can be used. It can be connected to the DENSO robot controller via Ethernet. The DENSO robot controller has libraries (providers) of different vision system manufacturers standard available. This allows an easy communication setup via TCP/IP and commands are mutually defined in a protocol which reduced programming time significantly. The vision system can be displayed via the DENSO Teaching Pendant and makes additional HMI’s unnecessary.

Robot:
DENSO offers a wide range of 4- and 6-axis robots with payloads from 3 to 20kg and reaches from 350 to 1300mm. The full range can be used in combination with the EYEFEEDER^®. Thus simple positioning with a 4 –axis (SCARA) robot is possible, or direct assembly with a 6-axis robot. The powerful PLC function in the DENSO RC8 robot controller allows direct operation of the EYEFEEDER^®, vision system or other components via its Teaching Pendant. Additional HMI’s, PLC’s or controllers are unnecessary.

Applications:
Pick & place, quality control, assembly, machine loading and packaging. Products dimensions up to 250mm (diagonal) and maximum weight of approximately 300 grams can be handled. Application examples: multiform metal-part feeding, sorting of candy, assembly of speaker houses, transplanting plant cuttings, etc.  Not to be used for unpacked food.

Summary:
The EYEFEEDER^® makes 100% flexible non-stop production possible whereby the change of product can be done quickly. This makes automation even with low batches affordable. Other than systems with conveyer tracking it doesn’t require a return-system which enables compact applications. If you have any feeding requirements, please contact us for further information.