Bar feeders are one of the most common machine tool accessories in any production turning job shop to automate material delivery and save time and labor costs.
At Absolute Machine Tools, we offer a wide selection of bar feeders, including 6’ to 12’ hydrodynamic magazine bar feeders and pneumatic and servo style short bar loaders. Length and diameter are two primary concerns when deciding which bar feeder is right for your needs.
Full-Size Bar Feeders
In general, full-size bar feeders can feed up to 12-foot bar stock and are ideal for sliding headstock Swiss lathes. While a full-size bar feeder takes up more floor space, it has the advantage of not requiring bar material to be cut into sections to match the spindle length. This saves time and labor and results in fewer remnants.
TRACER Series are hydrodynamic magazine style bar feeders. The magazine style greatly increases the bar feeder’s capacity, allowing for multiple bars to be held in reserve — this means extending run time and minimizing downtime.
Most of our TRACER Series bar feeders are available in 6’ o 12’ bar lengths. The TRACER 20 model is designed for bar diameters of 26mm or smaller and is a high quality economical choice for job shops with a tight budget. The TRACER V series bar feeders can also handle smaller bar diameters but are primarily designed for diameters of 5mm to 80mm.
Short Loaders
Short loaders can be a reliable, less costly option for material delivery that can be ideal for job shops under some circumstances. We offer both servo and pneumatic style short bar loaders.
The pneumatic style bar loader is an economical solution for feeding spindle-length bar stock into a CNC lathe and can feed bar diameters of 5 to 65 mm. Our servo style short bar loaders also gives unmanned production capacity but only with sub-spindle style CNC lathes.
Spindle-length bar loaders require bar stock to be cut into appropriate sections depending on the length of the lathe spindle. This means more remnants, more time and labor. However, particularly for larger diameter bar stock, the spindle-length loaders can be a much more cost-effective option for shops on a tight budget.
Get Help Choosing the Right Bar Feeder
The sales team at Absolute Machine Tools is here to help you find the right bar feeder for your needs and budget. Email sales@absolutemachine.com for more information!
