Choosing the Best Automatic Screw Feeder Suppliers: A Side-By-Side Comparison

As a production engineer, you have first-hand knowledge of the importance of the manufacturing process. You know that it is just as valuable to design an effective process for manufacturing your signature goods as it is to produce a top-selling product. While the customer only sees the end result—a sleek new model of a consumer electronic or greater miniaturization of an internal medical device, for example—these aren’t the only aspects of your product that will determine financial success for your company. What must also be considered is whether or not you can produce the quantities of your popular products necessary to achieve a solvent profit margin.

The efficiency of your manufacturing process will greatly impact how healthy your profit margins are. This is equally true for third-party manufacturers that produce products for other companies as it is for businesses that manufacture their goods in-house. The more efficiently product orders can be fulfilled, whether for another company or for consumers, the more orders your company will be able to viably accept—and the higher your profit margins are likely to become.

The best way to ensure your product, and thereby your company’s, success, then, is to develop the most effective factory setup possible. As most operations work with screws or other fasteners, this includes choosing the right automatic screw feeding system to ensure your assembly process can meet your production quotas in a timely manner, in full, every time. In order to determine the best automatic screw feeding system for your operation, it’s necessary to take a close look at the options available from the top suppliers.

As the old engineering adage goes: If you’re asked to build a doghouse, the first question you ask isn’t, “Pine or oak?” Or, “Would you like it painted pink or purple?” It’s, “How big is the dog?”

When choosing a screw feeding system to suit the needs of your manufacturing process, the sentiment behind the old adage holds true: The most important aspects to consider are the basic ones. For example: How big are your screws? Do you need to supply an automatic screw feeding system or is a human operator necessary? How will you handle maintenance and repairs?

With these questions in mind, here are the four most critical factors to consider when selecting a screw feeder supplier:

#1: Screw size

The majority of screw feeders are not capable of supplying every screw size available on the market. Generally, screw feeders are able to supply a specific size of screw, either large, small, or micro screws. For consumer electronics or internal medical device production, you may require a screw feeder able to handle micro-sized screws. If manufacturing aviation components or packaging applications, you may need a feeder for small screws. Heavy applications, such as producing automotive or defense goods, will typically require screw feeders able to handle large to very large screws.

#2: Screw coating (or other special needs)

Some screws are more delicate than others. For instance, some may be coated with sensitive materials which can be easily abraded or destroyed by passage through a screw feeding system. There are also screws on the market made of plastic or other lightweight materials that can be more easily bent, deformed, or destroyed than steel and other alloys. When working with these types of screws, it’s important to choose a screw feeder that takes careful handling into consideration.

#3: Automation level

A single-cell or small-line assembly operation will naturally have vastly different screw feeding needs than a large, fully automated assembly plant. It may be enticing for small outfits to consider going fully automatic, investing in a high-speed, high-volume screw supply system. However, if they don’t have the capacity in other areas to make these efficiency gains worthwhile, the expensive automatic screw feeder system may end up costing more than it ever realizes in returns. Conversely, a large operation looking to save money by investing in a more basic screw supply system may find that the reduced efficiency also reduces their margins to below a sustainable level. When choosing a screw supply system, it’s essential to realistically assess your needs, and then choose a semi- or fully automatic system accordingly based on anticipated ROI.

#4: Supplier location

It may seem a little quaint to value supplier proximity in today’s world of delivery drones and global supply chains. However, it still requires more resources to get to San Diego from Boston than it does from Los Angeles—that’s simply a fact. This consideration is especially important when it comes to the repair and maintenance aspect of assembly operations. Your factory relies on your screw feeding system to stay up and running. If the feeding system goes down, so does production. When you’re relying on the equipment manufacturer’s technicians for repair and maintenance services, their location matters. Nearby suppliers will be able to help you with unplanned system downtime more rapidly than distant options, reducing idle hours and increasing production ability.

Below, we’ve compiled a simple chart of the best automatic screw feeder suppliers. Some suppliers offer a wide range of screw feeding systems; some focus on more narrow areas. Once you’ve found a few suppliers who offer the systems your operation needs, the next step is to check in with them to get more details about their products, including price, warranty, and if they have service centers near you.

	Micro Screws	Small Screws	Large Screws	Coated Screws	Fully Automatic	Semi Automatic	Headquarters Location
Mountz	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	San Jose, CA
Assembly Automation	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Duarte, CA
Carlson	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	San Dimas, CA
Express Assembly Products	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Nashua, NH
Dixon	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Rockford, IL
Visumatic Industrial Products	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Lexington, KY
Weber	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Mooresville, NC

Once you have chosen the supplier who will meet your needs, it’s time to connect with them. At Mountz, we understand you’re buying into more than just a screw presenter. As you meet with sales representatives, ask yourself if this is a company you’d like to be working with for the next decade to come. After all, you’re not just investing in a new screw feeding system—you’re investing in a supplier relationship.