Are Bar-Fed Machines Leading the Way?

I prefer my army of elves with Dremel tools....

--Santa Claus

What is a "bar-fed mill"?

I googled that and got restaurants.

Is it some new and secret advance on CNC Machining centers?

_{(or is it that Machine Tools & Metal Working needs a technical editor?)}

From my colleague Chris Koepfer at Production Machining Magazine:

http://www.productionmachining.com/articles/are-bar-fed-machining-centers-the-next-big-thing

Milo

I was being slightly facetious about the choice to vary the title from the accepted term (from which one could get a meaningful result if searched)

Bit like "Will We Return to the Age of Hot Water Vapor?"

_{Interesting article nevertheless, though more of a pitch to the "not caught up yet" crowd.}

I should have figured a dog wearing a batman mask would be using a concealed sarcasm font.

My Apologies for taking you seriously...

No smiley face thingy I'm on my macbook...

Milo

Well, it now seems "using a concealed sarcasm font" has helped you help someone to "successfully search".

_{Maybe the 'journalist' could draw a lesson, or something, from that?}

Milo - thanks for the link. When this subject came up last month I understood the idea having seen what could be done by the current generation of bar feed CNC lathes and screw machines as well as previous generations of Swiss automatics. But a brief internet search didn't turn up actual examples. (lazy me!!)

It's very interesting to read about the actual implementation of the idea. I suspect we may not be far away from seeing some of the sophisticated control technology developed these days for other robotic devices showing up in machine tools in the area of work handling.

While we lament the problem of training the next generation of machinists in our strained economy (being discussed in another topic) the development discussed here is yet another way to deal with the labor shortage by further automation. During my last working years (some 10-12 years ago) I saw some very neat examples of "lights out" machining processes using prestaged tooling pallets to feed a large machining center with complex machined parts. This is all well and good if the cost of the palets is justified by the scope of the work. When it isn't you are faced with having a human tending the machine to load and unload and deal with "glitches" Now we're running out of humans qualified for that kind of job.

I can see some fascinating developments in the future of automated work handling for parts fabrication. Somewhere out there is an "intelligent part" which will tell the machine control center not only where it is but also "how" it is in terms of position in 6 degrees of freedom, temperature, vibration modes, strains and accelerations. Imagine an RFID capsule or capsules embedded in the part and able to transpond position using GPS-like methodology. Or maybe "smart" fixture clamps that can grab the part in accordance with a previously scanned shape profile. Or inject an impulse into the part that would produce an expected vibration spectrum response in the part which if abnormal would stop work and send the part to an inspection and cleaning station.

Now tell me we don't need very bright technicians and engineers to make that all happen.

Ed Weldon

Ed we should talk, as some of those ideas are here today.

I'm trying to get caught up at work today, so it won't be today.

I like your thinking.34 point 5, thanks for facilitating the conversation.Good Dog!

Milo

It's just the archaic way of pronouncing "barfed."