History and Development of RoboShop Vibratory Systems

 

A Note from the Owner

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Disclaimer: This article is based on the author’s opinions. It is not his intention to discredit other feeder companies, but only to let you know that our stuff is better.

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Throughout RoboShop Inc.’s 20+ year history, as well as my previous 20 years in manufacturing environments, I have lived the old phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention.” From our humble beginnings in 1997, serving the central New York area by providing custom specialty automation machinery for manufacturing processes, we have represented invention and ingenuity—because of necessity!

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At startup, with minimal investment (no money) and unknown in the industry, our small group took the challenge on tough projects (worked on whatever we could get, even when the job kicked our butt). Our niche was to provide cost-effective solutions (cheaper stuff that does the job).

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We continued designing and building one-of-a-kind machines for many years, eventually growing and taking on projects for larger manufacturing companies (the guys who care about paint color, extrusion, polycarbonate guarding, and stainless steel).

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As manufacturers of custom machinery, we became buyers of part-feeding systems. We were often disappointed at limited methods to accomplish the task. Some better than others, often part specific, typically expensive, and sometimes not reliable. In some projects, the price of the part-feeding system exceeded the cost of our portion of the project.
 

We needed a better solution for part presentation and couldn’t find it, so we developed our own.

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In January 2007, after receiving our patent, we started marketing our vibratory feeding/conveying solutions to automation integrators and manufacturing companies. Over the years, we have continuously improved the technology behind our low-cost, high-value vibratory products. Today, we are exclusively manufacturers of material handling and part feeder systems.
 

So, you’ve made it through the dry history, which tells a little about us, but we are so much more.

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You know that diner at the corner always packed with customers, great food, great service, great price, always offering something new and innovative on the menu and providing something custom cooked for the customer with a unique palate? Small enough for lunch for one, large enough to handle a banquet.

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That’s us. (With takeout only.)

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Then there’s the restaurant across the street. Great décor, excellent advertising, fancy chefs, snobby servers—and a huge, empty parking lot.

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About this “About Us”

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I hate the “About Us” sections on websites. So boring, and always the same stuff!

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I didn’t like what was out there, so I decided to write my own. Sound familiar?

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My first draft was hilarious (in my opinion), but my sales people told me to tone it down. My second draft was toned down, but still irreverent and funny (again, my opinion)! So I sent draft 2 to my daughter, who works for a major publishing company. She talked me off the ledge and we settled on this version (not including this part).

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She actually gave me permission to include a wrap up “Dad” joke. This was her note to me:

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 [I also think this is a good place to add back in some personality/humor, so maybe think of a very good wrap-up “Dad” joke and put it here.]

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Advisory: Don’t Google ‘VIBRATORS’ unless ‘SAFE SEARCH ‘ is on!

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Strange, that at 60 years old with 2 kids, I don’t know any “Dad” jokes.

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- Frank Giovinazzo

 

Free Gift:

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We offer free evaluation of your material handling needs. Send your parts to us, and we will run them on our feeders and send you a video of the performance and capability of a vibratory solution for your part presentation requirements. We can also send you a 3D file of our purposed feed system that you can drop into your CAD application. Just call and tell us what you need!

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Another Free Gift:

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We will soon be offering our “demo” mid-sized RoboTrak Flex Feeder for evaluation by qualified companies. Call us for details.

RoboShop Inc.               

226 Midler Park Dr.

Syracuse, NY 13206

315-437-6454

roboshop@verizon.net

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Ask for Mike or Frank  (Mike is nicer. Frank is older, fatter, and talks a lot)

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An important note to our customers: 3M Corporation, makers of Brushlon (a biased carpet material that is commonly used in flatbed feeder systems) discontinued production of this material in August 2020. But relax, NO WORRIES!

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Our early systems relied on Brushlon as the method for moving parts, but we have developed our vibration systems so that we are no longer dependent on biased brush for part movement. We can now move parts on any surface: plastic, steel, aluminum, rubber—wherever gentle part handling is required, we’ve found alternatives to biased brush that work just as well at lower cost.

 

Bonus Section:

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The Science

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There are many methods to move parts, but our experience with existing part feed methods caused us to question the conventional design. So, we broke the rules and developed our own vibratory conveyors, re-circulators, hoppers, flex-feeders, parts-counters, and sorters. Our versions were light, quiet, efficient, reliable, consistent, and capable of moving parts of any weight, shape, or material uphill or downhill—all using a lightweight, low-profile vibratory unit. Here’s how we do it, in two easy lessons:
 

Lesson 1: Work with what physics gave you.

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Step 1: Start with a flat aluminum plate, put a part on it, rapidly move the plate up and forward at the same time, then bring the plate back to the initial rest position. (The part will be launched forward and drop at a new position.)

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Step 2: Repeat Step 1

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Step 3: Loop Step 1 and 2 until the part is in the desired new location. The faster you loop, the faster the parts move.

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The concept really is that simple! The idea was first used by Mother Nature in earthquakes and tremors, and eventually was used in modern technology in vibrating conveying equipment and then vibratory feeder bowls, patented in 1950. Later, RoboShop perfected it.
 

Lesson 2: Many simple things are extremely complicated.

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The following is a short list of the things we learned in our struggles to achieve “Good Vibrations.”

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or

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“Everything about shaking stuff to turn chaos into organization.”

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• The vibration of a surface will have irregular oscillations in the plate that disrupt the desired smooth vibration.

• The vibrating plate, springs, mounting base, and all other associated mechanical components produce natural mechanical resonance that may not agree with your method for producing the vibration.

• The flexibility, weight, shape, and type of materials of the vibrating plate also take part in the symphony of vibration.

• Part shapes and weights along with surface friction can also mess with success.

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While we can’t claim to have solved every issue, we’re getting close. What we can claim is:

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Unlike other companies that market feeder bowls with 1950s technology, flatbed feeders with 1970s technology, flexy “shaking, bouncy” cubes with complicated vibration controls, or high-cost spinning bowls with bouncy areas, we offer systems that provide unmatched performance with our unique technology.