WHERE IT GOES WRONG
The cost shows up later
A vibratory bowl is tooled to exactly one part, which is fine as long as that part never changes. It gets expensive as soon as the product line grows, because every new part number means new tooling, a lead time in weeks, and another bowl to store for the runs you do twice a year.
Small and delicate parts are harder again. Anything that tangles, nests, scratches, or is too light to sit still tends to fail on the track rather than on the drawing, and by then the tooling is already bought.
Flexible feeding moves that problem into software. Parts land loose on a controlled surface, a camera finds the ones already sitting in a pickable orientation, and the robot takes those. Running a different part means loading a different recipe.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Match the technology to the job
Flexible feeding pays for itself on some lines and wastes money on others. The mix decides it more than the part does.
- Several part numbers on one line → flexible feeding. A changeover becomes a recipe load instead of new tooling and a bowl swap, and that is where the premium comes back fastest.
- Small, fragile, or tangling parts → flexible feeding. Springs, soft components, polished faces you cannot scratch, and parts down to roughly 0.1 mm on the smallest platforms.
- A fast line where the part changes often → a rotary-disc platform, which keeps the rate up and still changes parts in software, for parts up to about 250 mm. (FlexiBowl by ARS.)
- One part, high volume, no changes coming → a dedicated vibratory bowl is cheaper and quicker, and we will say so. That lane lives on the parts feeding page.
- Inside a cleanroom or an aseptic isolator → the room class sets the requirements before speed or part size matter. See cleanroom feeding.
Two mechanism families cover the work and they are strong in different places. Vibration platforms move parts across a flat surface in three axes, which suits small and delicate parts (Asyril's Asycube line, with EYE+ locating the parts). Rotary discs move a bigger population past the camera quickly, which suits throughput and larger parts (FlexiBowl by ARS, with FlexiVision). We carry both, so the recommendation can follow the part.
The feasibility answer comes before the quote. Send us the parts or the drawings and we will run a free feed study, so you find out whether they feed at all before anyone prices a machine.
WHY M6
One source, sized to the application
We supply and support both flexible feeding platforms across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and California, and we run the feed study on your actual parts. The handoff to the robot and the vision is part of the job, so the feeder and the pick come up together instead of arriving as two separate problems. The engineer who specs it is the one who picks up the phone later.
And if flexible feeding is the wrong answer for your part, we would rather tell you that early. Send the drawing and the rate.
You leave knowing whether your parts will feed on a flexible platform, which mechanism suits them, and what it takes to run a whole family of parts on one machine.
WHAT WE CARRY
The lines we rep for this application
- Asyril: flexible feeding on three-axis vibration platforms (the Asycube line) with EYE+ vision, strongest on small, delicate, high-mix parts.
- FlexiBowl by ARS: flexible feeding on rotary discs, strongest on high-throughput lines with frequent part changes.
Medical device, electronics, assembly, consumer products, automotive
THE EQUIPMENT
What this looks like on the floor
THE COST OF WAITING
An automation project gets approved with two numbers
One is the equipment quote. The other is what doing this by hand costs you every month, and only you can add it up:
Labor on the task. Hours per shift, at your fully loaded rate.
The rate ceiling. What the manual step caps your throughput at.
Scrap and rework. What manual variation costs you per thousand parts.
Changeover. Time lost every time the part changes.
The hiring problem. Turnover, training, and the weeks the job sits open.
Exposure. Repetitive lift, pinch points, and what one recordable costs you.
We will get you the equipment number and a budget range early, so your request goes up with both.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Common questions
What areas do you support flexible feeding in?
M6 Revolutions supplies, integrates, and supports Asyril and FlexiBowl flexible feeding across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and California, with free feed studies run on your actual parts.
How do I find out whether my part will feed?
Send the part or a drawing and we'll run a free feed study: a straight feasibility answer and a recommended platform before you spend anything.
What size parts can a flexible feeder handle?
Down to about 0.1 mm on the smallest Asycube platforms and up to 150 mm at the top of that range, and up to about 250 mm on FlexiBowl. The practical limit is usually how the part behaves in bulk rather than its size, which is exactly what the feed study answers.
How long does a part changeover take?
Minutes, because it is a recipe change. You load the stored recipe for that part and set up the vision model if the part is new to the machine. There is no tooling to swap and nothing to wait on from a supplier.
Will it work with our robot and vision?
Yes. Both platforms integrate with all major robot brands, with EYE+ or FlexiVision handling part location, and we engineer the full handoff.
When is a bowl feeder still the better answer?
One part, high volume, and no changes coming. A dedicated bowl wins on cost and rate in that case, and we will tell you when that is where you are.