CNC lathe bar feeders

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Increasing production capacity in small cnc lathe machine shops without spending too much money has always been the quest of business owners and shop foremen for quite some time now. While worker productivity can be improved, there is a limiting point, beyond which machine capacity limits take over the problem. Now in order to reduce capital expense, one could go the route of purchasing used cnc lathes in place of new equipment.

But then again, a used cnc lathe may not necessarily be the optimum solution. One of the solutions to consider might be to purchase a used cnc lathe bar feeder. The increase in productivity gained might really come as a surprise, especially if you have not considered using any automatic bar feeders in your shop thus far. Besides, purchasing a used bar feeder is significantly lower in costs as compared to a new one.

The main factors to consider are obviously the reliability of the used cnc lathe bar feeder that is being considered for purchase. An unreliable machine is more of a liability than a help in improving productivity. If more time is spent in constantly doing maintenance on a piece of equipment that is supposed to be running all the time, then all that has happened is money has been flushed down the drain. Hence reliability is the first factor to consider.

Secondly of course, the interface requirements need to be taken up. Many of the older cnc lathe bar feeders require specific interface cards that may be harder to come by. When possible, put the burden of providing you the interface card to the seller. Make the deal contingent upon the fact that a workable interface card along with cables must be provided to you. You will be surprised at how many sellers will oblige.

Thirdly, ensure that the manufacturer of the used cnc lathe bar feeder is still in existence AND that they still support the model that you are considering. Models that have been deemed obsolete tend to become real headaches when trying to buy spare parts or get service.

However, if these three hurdles can be successfully overcome, then installing a bar feeder can significantly improve productivity not only during normal shift operations, but can also allow for unmanned lights out operations, which is where the real profits get generated.