Automatic Bar Feeders

Designed for fully automatic loading of tubing, pipe and bar stock into Modern Automatic Cutting-Off Machines.

     Various types of auxiliary equipment are available to meet specific production requirements.
     With the addition of an automatic feeder, the entire machining operation from loading to cut-off becomes completely automatic, enabling an operator to run more than one machine.
     Modern Automatic Bar Feeders are available for all models of Modern Automatic Cut-Off Machines. They handle any stock length over six feet. Diameters over 3/8" on Models 2 and 3 and 1" on Models 4, 6 and 8 may be handled as standard. With additional equipment, smaller diameters can be handled.
     Stock is loaded into the feeder hopper, which will hold up to five tons of 20-foot lengths. The feeder automatically loads one bar at a time into the machine. Random lengths up to six feet in variance between the shortest and longest length can be handled without positioning the ends.
     Automatic bar feeders are designed to eliminate all manual operations, i.e. loading stock in a feed trough, starting it between feed rolls and positioning ends for trim cuts.
     Bar feeders are operated electrically and pneumatically. The pusher trolley is moved by a cable and drum which is rotated by a rack and gear attached to an air hydraulic cylinder. The speed of the pusher trolley is controlled by metering hydraulic oil through an adjustable needle valve and can be regulated for different stock sizes and conditions.

     There are three types of stock storage available; an inclined table, a hopper, and a combination unit which can be used either as a table or hopper. The inclined table must be used for solid stock 5/8" diameter and smaller, and tubing ¾" O.D. and smaller. Small diameter stock is so flexible it will jam if loaded several deep in a hopper. The inclined table may also be used for larger diameter stock when the number of bars that can be loaded on the table at one time is sufficient for a run. The table consists of channels on 4 foot centers having a 5° slope. Stock can be loaded on this table only one-deep and rolls by gravity down the slope to the loading position where cams lift one bar at a time, as needed, into the feed trough. The table is 60" wide and the amount of stock it will hold depends on the diameter of the stock. (See stock flow illustration - Fig. 1).
     A bundle of bars or tubing can be loaded in the hopper-type feeder several deep, allowing a larger number of bars to be loaded at one time. Elevating fingers raise the bars from the hopper to the loading position, which consists of supports that hold two or more bars, depending on the diameter of the stock. The stock is raised from the hopper only as needed, and when the loading position is full, limit switches stop the operation of the elevating fingers. Cams then load one bar at a time from the loading position into the feed
trough as required.
     The hopper will hold approximately eighty 2" diameter tubes. The number of bars of other diameter stock would vary depending on the diameter of the stock and the weight. The total weight that can be loaded in a hopper is 6,000 lbs. on a 12-foot feeder, and 10,000 lbs. on a 20-foot feeder. Since more stock can be loaded at one time, the hopper is recommended for most applications when stock diameters are ¾" or larger. (See stock flow illustration - Fig. 2).
     The combination inclined table and hopper style stock storage (not illustrated) is a standard hopper type bar feeder, furnished with extra channel supports which bolt across the hopper to form the inclined table. Thus, it can be used either as an inclined table with the channels in place or as a hopper with the channels removed. This type of bar feeder is recommended where the range of stock sizes to be cut includes small diameters that could not be run in the hopper, as well as larger diameters where the extra capacity and advantages of the hopper is desired.

     Bar feeders for use with Models 2 and 3 Modern Automatic Cutting-Off Machines are equipped with a feed trough consisting of a combination of roller supports and "V" troughs to handle both large and small diameter stock over the range of the machine.
     Roller supports consist of sets of two turning rolls mounted at right angles to the stock forming a "V" on which the larger diameter stock rotates while being cut off. Each set also includes a "V" molded roll mounted lengthwise of the stock which supports the stock when it is loaded onto the supports and also lifts it off the turning rolls when it is being fed forward. These lifting rolls lower to clear the stock when it is rotating while being cut off. The sets of rollers are mounted on a T-rail at approximately four-foot centers.
     For smaller diameter stock which is too light to rotate the turning rolls and which would deflect and whip between the roller supports, "V" troughs are mounted on the T-rail between the sets of roller supports. Thus the larger diameter stock is supported with a minimum amount of friction, both when turning and when being fed forward, while the smaller diameter stock is supported in the "V" troughs to give it the added support it needs over the full length of the stock. As roller supports and "V" troughs are mounted on the same T-rail, they adjust together for various stock diameters and do not require individual adjustments.
     Bar feeders for Models 4, 6 and 8 are furnished with roller supports consisting of two turning rolls at right angles to the stock and a lifting roll parallel to the stock. These rolls operate the same as the support rolls on bar feeders for Models 2 and 3. These feeders are furnished with the roller supports only as standard equipment. If machines are to be used for feeding stock under 1" diameter, the bar feeder must be equipped with auxiliary "V" trough supports mounted between the roller supports. These larger machines are only occasionally used for stock diameters under 1", therefore auxiliary "V" supports are not included as standard equipment and must be ordered extra.
     Roller supports and loading cams are adjustable for all stock diameters. Adjustments are made by a single hand lever located at the rear of the feeder. A graduated scale can be quickly set for the stock diameter being cut.
     While Modern Automatic Bar Feeders may be furnished for any length stock, feeders to accommodate 12 or 20 foot lengths are considered standard. Operational efficiency, naturally, depends on the straightness of the stock. The bar feeders will perform efficiently on all stock within commercial straightness tolerances.