Product Design and Development Blogs | Voler Systems

Drum Stick Sorter Delivered | Voler Systems

Written by Walt Maclay | Oct 21, 2009 8:10:50 PM

Voler delivered a machine to sort drumsticks (the musical kind) for a company that wanted to make top-of-the-line drumsticks. The machine measures the straightness, weight, balance, and pitch of each drumstick, then sorts them into bins where they are matched. Voler was responsible for the design, assembly, testing, and installation of the machine.

Professional drummers want precision matched sticks. To do so Voler first uses a laser to measure the straightness of each stick, rejecting those that are not straight. Weight sensors measure the weight and balance. Sound from the stick is analyzed to determine the frequency at which it vibrates (the pitch). Sticks that pass all the tests are sorted into bins for packaging.

Voler designed and built the electrical system, including the sensor measurement systems, and subcontracted the mechanical design to a firm that is highly experienced in building this type of machine. The software was designed and written by Voler. After thorough testing to be sure it met its specifications, the machine was delivered to the customer where it was set up and tested to verify it functioned correctly. The machine is now producing large volumes of carefully matched drumsticks.