Patent attributes
A feeding system (10) for epoxy mould compound (EMC) pellets which has a supply bowl (12) situated outside the clean environment (24) of a conventional automatic moulding machine (26). A tube (16) extends from the supply bowl (12) to a buffer hopper (14) within the clean environment and which is located above the feeder bowl (28) of the automatic moulding machine (26). EMC pellets are transported through the tube (16) from the supply bowl (12) into the buffer hopper (14) via a vacuum suction system (34), (36) which is connected to the tube (16) in proximity to the buffer hopper (14). A counter air flow may be provided to slow the speed of the pellets as they enter the buffer hopper. Batches of the pellets accumulated in the buffer hopper (14) are periodically released into the feeder bowl (28) of the automatic moulding machine (26). The vacuum transportation system reduces dust from the pellets. Also productivity is increased compared to conventional use of the automatic moulding machine (26) by providing for the supply bowl (12) to have a significantly larger capacity compared to the feeder bowl (28) of the automatic moulding machine (28).
