With the rapid development of automation technology, automatic screw-feeding systems have been widely adopted in automated bolt-assembly applications. Compared with traditional manual operations, these systems not only reduce the repetitive workload and operator fatigue, but also guarantee consistent feeding stability and shorten the screw-supply cycle through continuous, automatic delivery.
However, during actual line operation, the following factors—screw supply consistency, positional repeatability, machining accuracy of the tightening mechanism, and motion-control logic—can all contribute to jamming. Human intervention is then required to clear the fault, which directly affects production efficiency.
Why does jamming occur? Jamming is a complex system-level problem whose risks cannot be ignored. According to the automatic screw-feeding and tightening flow used on a real production line, we typically face the following jamming risks.
Feeder-structure jamming
The structural design of the screw feeder itself is directly related to jamming. In the first step, screws in the hopper must be sorted onto the linear-vibration track. During this sorting process, if the blow-air flow is unstable or the nozzle is set too high, abnormal screws are not rejected in time, leading to accumulation and jamming.

Next, after entering the linear-vibration track, screws are driven forward by vibration. After long-term use, external disturbances can cause the vibration frequency to resonate unstably, so screws advance at inconsistent rates. Excessive vibration amplitude makes screws bounce up and down on the track and stall. Over time, screw dirt and oil also increase sliding resistance, again causing stacking and jamming.
In the indexing (cut-off) section, if the outlet of the linear track is misaligned with the inlet of the escapement (indexer), screws can pile up at the entrance and the indexer cannot cut off a single screw. Screws that have not fully entered the indexer may also be cut incorrectly, resulting in jamming.
Blow-tube jamming
After screws are separated and blown through the blow tube to the nosepiece, several factors can still cause jamming. Poor tube quality is a major cause: if the inner-diameter tolerance is poor, or the tube wall is too thin and deforms during complex routing, jams will occur.
In addition, if the length-to-diameter ratio of the screw was not evaluated thoroughly during selection, an inappropriate tube size or an unsuitable bend radius will also lead to jamming.

Blow/suction nosepiece jamming
Because screw specifications vary widely and tightening conditions differ, an inadequate assessment of screw length-to-diameter ratio and application requirements can cause screws to flip over or jam at the three-way fork inside the nosepiece.
An improper selection can also result in insufficient exposed thread length after the screw is held by the collet jaws, making it impossible to engage the hole in advance. Furthermore, if the suction nosepiece is dimensionally incorrect or the concentricity between the bit and the suction tube is poor, the screw may be picked up crooked, causing misalignment and tightening failure.

Incorrect motion-control logic
Beyond material and equipment factors, an improperly programmed screw-request signal can generate false triggers, leading to double feeding. For example, after one screw has already been blown to the nozzle, a second screw is immediately blown in, leaving two screws at the nozzle and causing a jam.
In addition, special on-site equipment can interfere with the feeder’s signals, inadvertently triggering the blow-air solenoid and likewise producing double feeding.
Key Take-away
Jamming in automatic screw-feeding systems is multi-factorial. Only by systematically addressing feeder design, tube quality, nosepiece geometry, and control-logic robustness can the risk be minimized and line uptime maximized.