Shuttle - transport system.

Patented shuttle feed for transport of fasteners without compressed air

With the compressed air free shuttle feed for fasteners, STÖGER AUTOMATION has created the first alternative to tube feeding using feed air. Compressed air consumption can be reduced by up to 98 %. As a result, the shuttle is particularly well suited to screwing applications where technical cleanliness is important, as without feed air any particles present remain in the feeder bowl. Also the noise level is reduced significantly: conventional systems produce noise level between 50-75 dBA, whereof the majority is caused by the feed air.

Fast cycle times can be reached, because the system, due to its construction, provide fasteners that have not to be transported through the complete length of the feed tube, but - depending on the fasteners' geometry - only a short distance toward the nose piece. Thanks to its design the shuttle is suited even for barely feedable fasteners. Another advantage is the maintenance-free design. The system can be retrofitted to all other feed units (bowl feeder, step feeder, segment feeder).

Operating principle
The patented shuttle design is used in place of the conventional feed tube. The individual shuttles are arrayed consecutively in a dual-track feed tube. A turning unit is installed at the end of each of these, where the shuttles will be moved to the other on a ”travel track“ thus ensuring that a complete circuit is always formed.

The fastener drops out of the escapement into a shuttle and will be moved by means of a cylinder system. Above the screwdriving unit, the particle sluice or the escapement, it is ejected and fed to the screwdriver head with the correct
orientation for processing.