Parts of a Vending Machine – Trays, Spirals and Coin Parts

All 15 parts on the diagram

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Front 8

Door The front of the machine. It swings open for loading.
Window Glass through which the buyer sees the products and their numbers.
Delivery door The flap the buyer pushes to take the product.
Display Shows the amount of money put in.
Keypad The keys for entering the number of the product wanted.
Coin insert The slot where coins go in.
Bill validator Takes paper money and checks each bill.
Coin return button Pressed to get the money back without buying.

Opened up 7

Control board The circuit board that runs the machine and counts the money.
Coin mechanism Accepts the coins and pays out change.
Cash box Holds the coins the machine keeps.
Cabinet The body of the machine, which holds the trays.
Tray A shelf. Products are loaded on it, between the spirals.
Spiral Turns to push the front product off the tray.
Vend motor A small motor behind each spiral that turns it.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two separate vending machine makers use it. Four makers' operation, service and parts manuals, read in full text on the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6020338 (door, glass front, tray, spiral, vend motor, coin mechanism, bill validator, coin return button, keypad, display, control board, cash box, cabinet); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6008148 (door, window, tray, delivery door, coin mechanism, coin insert, coin return button, validator, keypad, control board, cabinet); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5886227 (door, glass window, tray, spiral, delivery door, coin mechanism, coin insert, coin return button, bill validator, keypad, display, control board, cash box, cabinet); https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6039326 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6038001, one maker (tray, spiral, vend motor, coin mechanism, coin insert, bill validator, keypad, display, control board, cash box, cabinet). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A snack vending machine takes money at the front and drops a product into a bin at the bottom. This drawing names eight parts on the front, then seven that show when the door is open.

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What the buyer uses

Products show through the window. Coins go in the coin insert and paper money in the bill validator, and the display shows the amount. The keypad takes the number of the product. The product is taken out through the delivery door. The coin return button gives the money back.

Behind the door

The cabinet holds the trays. On each tray, products sit between the turns of a spiral, and a vend motor behind the spiral turns it to push one off. On the door, the coin mechanism takes coins and pays change, the cash box keeps the rest, and the control board runs the machine.

One spiral, one motor: each selection on a tray has its own vend motor behind it.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a vending machine called?

Outside: the door, window, display, keypad, coin insert, bill validator, coin return button and delivery door. Inside: the cabinet, trays, spirals, vend motors, coin mechanism, cash box and control board.

What is the spiral in a vending machine called?

Most makers call it the spiral; others say auger, coil or helix. Products sit between its turns, and when its motor turns it, the front one is pushed off the tray.

What is the flap at the bottom of a vending machine called?

The delivery door. The product drops behind it, and the buyer pushes the flap to take it out.

Where does the money go in a vending machine?

Coins drop from the coin insert into the coin mechanism, which pays out change; the coins the machine keeps fall into the cash box. Paper money goes into the bill validator.