A workpiece conveying apparatus for a pressing machine includes: a first arm supported so as to be rotatable within a substantially horizontal plane; a second arm supported on the first arm so as to be rotatable within the substantially horizontal plane; a workpiece holding device supported on a distal end side of the second arm so as to be rotatable within the substantially horizontal plane; a first arm drive mechanism configured to drive the first arm to rotate; a second arm drive mechanism configured to drive the second arm to rotate with respect to the first arm; a workpiece holding device rotation drive mechanism configured to drive the workpiece holding device to rotate with respect to the second arm; and a tilt drive mechanism configured to drive the workpiece holding device to rotate with respect to the second arm.

A transport apparatus comprises an endless vacuum conveyor belt (310) having a plurality of perforations (311). The conveyor belt transports the particles along a transport direction (T) while they are aspirated to the perforations, thereby defining a moving transport surface (316). The transport surface extends in an essentially vertical plane (x-z), and the transport direction (T) is inclined upwardly relative to the horizontal direction (x). An inclined recycling tray (200) recycles particles that have fallen from the conveyor belt back to a feeding zone (150) purely by the action of gravity. A separating wall (600) separates a processing zone from a clean zone of the apparatus. The conveyor belt interacts with an elongate vacuum box, which is open along one side, the open side being covered by an elongate slider. The slider has suction openings with a cross section that varies along the transport direction (T).

Pick-up device (10) configured to selectively pick up and extract at least one bar (B) from a plurality of bars (B) disposed on a feed plane (111) and to position it on a delivery plane (12), said pick-up device (10) comprising a support arm (11) terminally provided with a pick-up head (12). The present invention also concerns an apparatus (100) for feeding bars (B) comprising the device (10) as above and a corresponding method for picking up bars (B).

An installation for separating and singulating non-uniform postal articles of the small parcel or packet type is characterized in that it comprises a platform for storing a pile of loosely placed postal articles, a vision system adapted to form digital images of the pile of loose postal articles, which pile is static on the platform, and a pneumatic pickup head of a robotized arm. The vision system comprises at least one laser source that projects a beam of fanned-out laser lines onto the pile of articles, thereby making it possible, on the basis of images including the laser lines on the pile of articles, to compute accurately a map of depths, and to perform digital silhouetting so as to singulate an article from the pile of loose articles.

An article feed system for aligning and singulating incoming articles includes a rotatable upper rim surface and an article delivery device that delivers articles received by the article delivery device to the upper rim surface. A drive system is operatively connected to the disk assembly that rotates the bowl assembly and the assemblies rotate at different speeds but in the same direction. A guide wall extends upwardly above the upper rim surface that guides the articles travelling along the upper rim surface toward an exit opening in the guide wall. A vertically oriented article engaging-type conveyor is at the exit opening in the guide wall. The vertically oriented article engaging-type conveyor includes a moving article engaging surface that is exposed to the exit opening in the guide wall for receiving the articles when they exit the exit opening.

A singulator is provided for orienting, sorting and conveying at least one rail fastener, from a bulk supply of such fasteners, and includes a frame defining a lower end and an upper end. A plurality of transverse magnet bars is connected to an endless conveyor system disposed on the frame to move from the lower end to the upper end. A ramp is disposed on the frame, has an underside facing the magnet bars, and an opposite sorting surface opposite the underside and receiving the fasteners. At least one deflector assembly is associated with the ramp and is constructed and arranged for sorting fasteners drawn along the ramp by the magnet bars from the lower end to the upper end so that single fasteners are delivered at the upper end.

A singulator is provided for orienting, sorting and conveying at least one rail fastener, from a bulk supply of such fasteners, and includes a frame defining a lower end and an upper end. A plurality of transverse magnet bars is connected to an endless conveyor system disposed on the frame to move from the lower end to the upper end. A ramp is disposed on the frame, has an underside facing the magnet bars, and an opposite sorting surface opposite the underside and receiving the fasteners. At least one deflector assembly is associated with the ramp and is constructed and arranged for sorting fasteners drawn along the ramp by the magnet bars from the lower end to the upper end so that single fasteners are delivered at the upper end.

A component supply device includes a posture maintainer and a pair of cutting members. The posture maintainer includes a pair of grip members, each of which includes a tip end portion that extends in a traveling direction of a component holding tape. The posture maintainer maintains the posture of a component by gripping a body portion of the component having been supplied to a component supply position with the body portion interposed between the tip end portions of the pair of the grip members. The pair of cutting members cuts a lead portion of the component having been gripped by the pair of grip members with the lead portion interposed between the pair of cutting members in a direction intersecting a traveling direction of the component holding tape.

An installation for separating and singulating non-uniform postal articles of the small parcel or packet type is characterized in that it comprises a platform for storing a pile of loosely placed postal articles, a vision system adapted to form digital images of the pile of loose postal articles, which pile is static on the platform, and a pneumatic pickup head of a robotized arm. The vision system comprises at least one laser source that projects a beam of fanned-out laser lines onto the pile of articles, thereby making it possible, on the basis of images including the laser lines on the pile of articles, to compute accurately a map of depths, and to perform digital silhouetting so as to singulate an article from the pile of loose articles.

An apparatus to feed bars is disclosed that comprises a feed device suitable to support a plurality of bars and to make them available to a transfer device. The transfer device is configured to transfer the bars, received from the feed device, toward a delivery zone, and comprises at least one gripping and holding element, configured to take at least one bar from the feed device and to transfer it, by means of rotation around an axis of rotation, toward the delivery zone. The axis of rotation is located, during use, substantially parallel to the longitudinal development of the bars.