Paired Step Feeders with Vision and a Bi-Directional Escapement for Tapered-Tube Assembly

A precision component manufacturer came to Bellco with a feeding problem that traditional parts-feeding tooling couldn't solve cleanly. Their downstream assembly cell needed a steady supply of tapered tubes — small, precision-machined components with a defined nose end and a defined tail end. One cell required parts with either end leading. Another required parts with the nose end always leading — every cycle, no exceptions.

The geometry of a tapered tube is exactly the kind of orientation problem that mechanical tooling fights with. The taper is gentle enough that geometric escapement gates can't reliably tell nose from tail at speed. And the customer didn't want two completely different machines — they wanted one supplier, one engineering team, and a coordinated solution they could integrate side-by-side into the same line.

They needed two systems, scoped to the same throughput, built to the same standard, delivered together — with confidence that both would just work when they hit the floor.

Bellco engineered a paired solution on a single proposal — two step feeders, one accountable engineering team, two different orientation strategies.

System 1, a tabletop step feeder for either-side leading. For the cell that didn't require a leading end, Bellco built a tabletop step feeder feeding into a Bellco-built flat-belt conveyor. The conveyor exits into a custom chute engineered around the part's exact dimensions, so tapered tubes hand off cleanly to the downstream cell regardless of which way they're oriented. Compact, lower-cost, and exactly what the application needed — no over-engineering.

System 2, a stand-alone step feeder with vision-guided orientation. For the cell that required nose-end leading on every part, Bellco mounted a Keyence IV-4 vision camera above the 300–400mm linear track. The IV-4 inspects each tube in flight, identifies which end is leading, and signals the system to blow off any tube that's running tail-first. Correctly-oriented parts continue down a Bellco flat-belt conveyor into a custom dual-stage pneumatic escapement — engineered to pitch parts either left or right depending on which side the downstream cell needs. Two escape directions, one machine, fully under PLC control.

Both systems were modeled in SolidWorks before any metal was cut. The customer received the complete 3D model for integration approval — every clearance, every footprint dimension, every interface point verified ahead of fabrication. No surprises at install.