Predicting Part Orientation Distributions in Linear Feeders Using Simulation-Driven Deep Learning

Designing linear conveyor feeders with passive fences for automated part orientation remains largely trial and error because the final orientation distribution is difficult to predict reliably before physical testing. We present a simulation-driven deep learning pipeline that predicts the full distribution of final in-plane orientations for extruded, z-axis-symmetric parts interacting with linear feeders containing up to two straight or curved fences. Using Bullet physics-based simulation in CoppeliaSim, we generate 1048 main part–feeder samples across 38 part geometries, plus 78 fence generalization and 110 unseen part samples for a total of 1236 (41 unique parts), and train regression networks and a Variational Autoencoder, or VAE, to predict 360-bin orientation probability distributions. On known parts, the regression model achieves high accuracy on held-out test configurations, R2 on circular CDFs =0.97±0.05, and on unseen fence combinations, R2 on circular CDFs = 0.89 ± 0.11. Generalization to previously unseen part geometries is more challenging, with R2 on circular CDFs = 0.75 ± 0.18, indicating that geometric representation and dataset diversity are primary limitations. We also evaluate VAE reconstruction on datasets generated from simulations at different iteration counts: 5–100% of 1000 iterations in 5% increments. While within-level reconstruction remains high, cross-convergence evaluation shows that partial-iteration PMFs are far from fully converged labels in this dataset (overall CDF R2 = 0.01 at 5%, 0.32 at 50%, and 0.87 at 75%), so reduced-iteration simulations do not substitute for full convergence here. Overall, the proposed approach provides a data-driven foundation for feeder analysis and design, with future work focusing on improved geometric generalization and physical validation for industrial deployment.