Silverware Singulating System

Abstract

This study investigates the singulation (`to single out') of silverware pieces in commercial dishwashing applications. An earlier version of this mechanism was developed with a stated efficiency of 40.7%. The purpose of this research was to improve on the existing design or implement a new design and develop an automated singulating rig that is capable of receiving 400 pieces of mixed randomly oriented silverware pieces, process them and pick single pieces at a rate of 30 pieces/min at higher efficiency. Major challenges associated with this study were to develop a mechanism that is capable at handling randomly oriented mixed silverware batches efficiently, to develop a reliable sensing mechanism to detect the presence of silverware at multiple locations of the test rig and to develop a mechanism that is capable of picking single pieces and delivering them from the rig. The method of study was experimental. An efficient and economical singulating mechanism has been designed and developed. A controlling method to distribute and divide large batch into smaller batches was designed and developed. A customized sensing method was designed and developed that provided reliable feedback to various actuators in the rig. Integration of all the actuators was made possible by an effective algorithm developed that allowed microprocessor to manage all rig operations. Smaller batches were further subdivided into streams of silverware, fed to the final stage, where hemi spherical NdFeB magnets were used in an effective manner to reach throughputs of 35 pieces/min at 95% efficiency.