Let's take a closer look to help you decide whether a friction feeder is best for your application.
Introduction:
Friction Feeders are a popular choice for automating product feeding into labelers, printers, inkjets, and other types of equipment where productivity and automation are desired. The friction feeder design is simple and the operation is intuitive enough that almost anyone can set up and operate the machine in less than ten minutes.
Applications:
You'll find friction feeders used in many applications, including:
- Labeling
- Inkjet Printing
- Coding and Marking
- Collating
- Card Attaching
- Batch Counting
- Fulfillment
Product Feeding:
Friction Feeders are great with some products, and not so great with others. Exceptions do apply, but generally here's what you can expect:
Good:
- Envelopes
- Postcards
- Business Cards
- Rigid and Flat Products
- Bags (testing required)
- Cartons (testing required)
- Boxes (testing required)
Not As Good:
- Very Thin Products
- Thin Plastic Bags
- Heavy Material
- Material more than 1/4" Thick
Pros and Cons:
With any feeder, there are pros and cons associated with Friction Feeders. Based on our experience, this generally applies to all of them.
Pros:
- Easy to set and operate
- Versatile
- Very little maintenance
- Lower priced than most feeders
- Very low service needs
- High-speed operation
Cons:
- Lower stack heights with heavier products
- May require constant attention with some products
- May double-feed products without detection
- May not feed product perfectly square or straight
Summary:
We recommend Friction Feeders more than any other type of product feeder. The lower cost, fast return on investment, low service and maintenance needs, and ease of use make it an easy decision.
Product Testing:
We offer free product testing. Send us samples and we'll send you a video with the product. Let's start a conversation to see if we can help. Please click on the link below to get started. Thank you!
Friction Feeder Alternatives:
Learn more about Friction Feeder Alternatives here.
See a Friction Feeder in action in the video below: