2.0 Vortex shakers can be used to study the dustiness of powders. A parametric study has been performed to estimate the influence of diverse features on a traced particle's movements. The air flow has almost no effect on the particle's motion. Increasing the powder mass from 2 g to 4 g has no effect on the horizontal coordinates but increases the height and tends to decrease the velocity. Using a larger tracer particle does not affect the height but it increases the width of the horizontal coordinates and the velocity. Increasing the rotation speed from 1000 rpm to 2500 rpm has contradictory consequences. The effects on the other variables are unsystematic and depend on whether 2 g or 4 g of powder have been used. Plausible explanations could be offered for several of the trends but numerical modelling will be necessary for accounting for all findings. Display omitted •A parametric study of the Vortex Shaker (VS) was performed.•Deactivating the air stream has almost no effects.•Increasing the powder mass lowers the velocities but raises the height.•Increasing the particle's size raises the horizontal but lowers the vertical velocities.•Increasing the rotation speed has unsystematic effects.