Automated adjustment system for star wheel

A method of automatically adjusting an adjustable star wheel for conveying three dimensional articles within pockets along an arcuate path, wherein the adjustable star wheel comprises stacked concentric rotatable elements having a center and peripheries, and comprising control surfaces that define the boundaries of said pockets, wherein the pockets defined by control surfaces of said rotatable elements have an adjustable configuration to accommodate different size and/or shape three dimensional articles, and an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the configuration of the pockets by adjusting the relative angular position between rotatable elements, the method comprising:

• providing a computer with a computer-aided design software program, said computer being in communication with the adjustment mechanism, and
• providing a model of the adjustable star wheel including rotatable elements and control surfaces in said computer-aided design software;
• providing a model of the three dimensional article within the computer-aided design software;
• adjusting the relative angles of the model of the rotatable elements to enable the control surfaces to cooperate with the model of the three dimensional article and form a pocket to support the three dimensional article within said computer-aided design software;
• and
• adjusting the relative angles of the rotatable elements of the adjustable star wheel to match the configuration of the model of the rotatable elements determined to support the model of the three dimensional article in the computer-aided design software.