Case Study
1100mm Bowl and Side Shuttle Escapement Feed Precision Metal Parts for Robotic Pick
A custom-tooled 1100mm stainless bowl with an hour of hands-free capacity, spacing parts 200mm apart so a robot takes two at a time every six seconds.
The Challenge
This system feeds and orients precision metal components — directional, machined or stamped parts of the kind used across automotive, aerospace, medical device and industrial manufacturing. Parts like these have a leading end that matters, surfaces that must not be marred, and a downstream robot that expects them in a known position at a known cadence.
The application needed three things at once: reliable orientation of a directional metal part, enough onboard capacity that an operator was not standing at the machine, and a hand-off that let a robot pick two parts at a time cleanly rather than one at a time from a queue.
The Solution
Bellco built a custom-tooled 1100mm stainless steel vibratory bowl, machined to deliver consistent, repeatable part orientation at 20 parts per minute. A conveyor-fed vibratory hopper sits above it, holding 4.5 cubic feet — up to an hour of hands-free operation before anyone needs to touch the machine.
At the outfeed, a side shuttle escapement spaces parts 200mm apart so a robot can make a clean dual-part pick every six seconds. Because the escapement holds each part in a known position, the robot goes to a taught point rather than hunting for the part.
The system is built for a factory rather than a demonstration: nickel-plated baseplate, adjustable steel legs, Keyence sensors and CUH digital controllers with an EtherCAT-ready manifold. The escapement end-of-track sensor is wired into an I/O block that drops straight into the customer's existing equipment — a genuinely plug-and-play system.
Built for 24/7, Not for a Demo
Advanced escapement design is what makes the robotic cell work, but continuous-duty construction is what keeps it working. Nickel-plated baseplate, adjustable steel legs, and components specified for round-the-clock running in a factory environment. The bowl is custom-tooled to one part geometry — not adapted from something close — which is the difference between a feed rate you can quote and a feed rate you can hold.
Full System Overview
- 1100mm stainless steel vibratory bowl, custom-tooled to the part
- 20 PPM feed rate
- Conveyor-fed vibratory hopper, 4.5 cubic feet — up to one hour of hands-free operation
- Side shuttle escapement spacing parts 200mm apart for a dual-part robot pick every 6 seconds
- Keyence sensors throughout
- CUH digital controllers with EtherCAT-ready manifold
- Escapement end-of-track sensor wired into an I/O block for direct integration
- Nickel-plated baseplate with adjustable steel legs
- Designed for directional, machined or stamped metal components
- Fully designed and modeled in SolidWorks — 3D model provided to customer for approval before build
See It Running
The Build
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