Friday, September 29, 2000
Rosemont, IL--This Wednesday at the Assembly Technology
Expo, Vertex Development Corp. introduced a product that will address the
frustrating parts-handling element of manufacturing and systems
integration--Feedscape.
In material handling applications, parts are typically fed through
tubes, chutes, rails, tracks, and guides. One characteristic common to all of
these methods is that they rely on contact with the outside of the part. Often,
a geometric feature, such as a notch or flat, is used for guidance or
orientation.
When parts are contained on their outer surface, the tooling
necessary for guidance requires a female feature, such as a square tube or
T-slot. This female tooling must conform to the parts' outside dimensions and is
sensitive to part variations.
The Feedscape system is fundamentally different, according to
Vertex, because it handles parts from the inside. The patent-pending technology
takes advantage of the internal features of parts, rather than handling parts
from the outside. This change allows the use of male tooling, offering
previously unavailable design opportunities.
For more information, e-mail Vertex President Rick Amendolea at ramendolea@centricity.net.