All right now we're getting somewhere. 1-5/8" capacity is convenient because any 42mm capacity bar feeder or mag loader will work.
Lets start with the major players; you have LNS who sells their own stuff. Edge Technologies which is a division of Hydromat. They used to be Iemca in the USA but now they sell FMB and their own private label Taiwanese loaders. There is Iemca who now imports their own stuff and some of it is built in Charlotte, N.C. And there is MTA who imports mostly Taiwanese bar feeders/loaders except for the world's most expensive bar loader that is made in Germany.
Then you have smaller companies like Spego, Lexair, Etc.
Start with LNS - The Quicload that demoj21 is offering will work. But it doesn't solve your problem as you cut the bar to headstock lengths. It will automatically load a new bar when you run out of stock. It is also possible to put an extension on and run slightly longer bars. But nowhere near the 6' minimum you are looking for.
So starting with their hydrodynamic bar feeders, LNS makes two types. For your application you would want either an HYS 6.42HS-5.2 or a THB 42-4.8LC. The HYS is the classic Gatling Gun style bar feeder. It has 6 tubes built into a large diameter barrel. When you change from say 3/8" bar to 1" bar, you simply unclamp the barrel and rotate it to the proper size tube. The pushers stay in the tubes. The end of the pusher is basically a piston and your feed force is provided by hydraulic oil pushing against the pusher. LNS makes this bar feed in 6' and 12' lengths. Brand new this bar feed has a list price of $20,500.00 and you'll need to add another $2,000.00 for spindle liners, plus $2,200.00 for install.
The THB42 is a single tube type of system. When you change from 3/8" to 1" stock you remove the liner tube which slides out of the front of the bar feed, and slide in the 1" capacity tube. The downside to this is that the bar feed is hydrodynamic and uses hydraulic oil to both push and support the bar like the HYS. So when you pull the tiubes out it tends to drip oil on the floor. The upside is that the bar feed costs only $13,895.00 new.
Either of these bar feeds are easy to find used for far less. However be aware that if you buy the bar feed used you might have to buy new pushrods for it. The reason being that the end of bar signal comes from a pressure switch on the bar feed. When the bar feed is installed the service tech takes some measurements then cuts the pushrod to length. When the pushrod is at the end of its travel it goes by a cross hole in the tube which allows hydraulic oil to bleed off into a pressure switch. If the push rods are too long in the used bar feed you are OK. If they are too short you'll get the end of bar signal early and will still have bar enough in the spindle to make more parts.
Also with any hydro-bar type feeder you have to put a healthy chamfer or cone on the bar end that rides against the pusher. I just buzz the chamfer on a belt sander, but there are also bar prep machines that will cut the chamfer with an insert tool.
Also keep in mind that these bar feeder are fed from the front. They swing out and you load the bar from the front side, so you'll need 6+ feet clear on an angle from the front of the bar feed. Also the pusher takes up room, so a 6' bar feed will need 8-9' of space from the left end of your lathe.
The upside to a hydro-bar is that you don't really need to buy a bar feed interface from Mori. You can just wire the end of bar signal into your 24V E-stop circuit. Then feed bar at the beginning of the lathe cycle. When you run out of stock the machine will go into E-stop. You want to run this through a momentary relay. Otherwise you won't be able to restart the bar feed to retract the pusher and thus won't be able to clear the alarm.
LNS also makes bar loaders. What you would want is the Hydrobar Sprint 552. New a set up for a 42mm machine costs $40,650.00 plus $2,900.00 for install. Plus whatever Mori charges for a bar feed interface. Again you can find these used. The upside is that a 6' feeder is right around 7' and bars load from the side. So if floor space is an issue this is a good way to go. Since it changes bars automatically, you can run the lathe unattended if you want. These bar loaders are also available used, although 6' versions are a little more rare than 12 footers.
LNS on the web -
http://www.lnsamerica.com/
Lexair makes a bar feeder similar to the LNS THB. They call it the Rhino Bar. Lexair is made in Kentucky and it's a very decent lower cost bar feed. I haven't quoted one in some time but I believe it's right around the same price as the LNS THB. Maybe a little less expensive. See Lexair here -
http://www.lexairinc.com/mta/index.html
Spego has a unique design. Like the LNS HYS all the tubes are self contained in a large barrel. But on the Spego they are in-line. They offer a wide variety of models to choose from. I only have current pricing on the Swiss models but based on that they are a couple of grand cheaper than the LNS HYS. Spego makes a nice bar feeder right here in the USA. But the company is run by a couple of "good old boys" and delivery can be hit or miss. Service is a little sketchy but these are simple devices. Parts are usually in stock. See Spego here -
http://www.spegousa.com/new.htm
Edge Technologies - Edge has by far the best service and support. They sell the FMB line from Germany as well as some private label Taiwanese bar feeds. The FMB Turbo 555 is the mother of all bar loaders. By far the best. It has a Fanuc PLC and it weighs in at a hefty 6,500 pounds. It is easy to change over. It has roller supports on the nose for round bar AND bearing blocks for hex and shaped stock. By far the quietest best designed bar loader out there. It comes with a hefty price tag to match. Base price is $43,600.00 and by the time you add additional channels and install you'll be spending near 50 G's. But I can't say enough about this particular bar loader. It's the best by a mile.
Edge also offers a copy of the Iemca BOSS that is made in Taiwan. It's called the Patriot 551. I think this bar loader is a relative steal at $28,500. Figure mid 30's installed with all the capacity sets you'll need. It's a faithful copy. I'm pretty sure many of the components are interchangeable with the Iemca.
http://www.edgetechnologies.com/
That brings us to Iemca. Since they fired Hydromat and went direct in the US through its subsidiary Bucci, service has suffered to say the least. In fairness they are getting better but in my estimation they still have a ways to go.
As for Iemca the bar loaders are made in Italy and until the split with Hydromat, they were the number one brand in the US. The current model that you'd be looking at is the BOSS 545 -
http://www.iemca.com/BOSS545_scheda_prodotto.html But if I were looking at used I would also look for the older BOSS 542. You might even find an older TAL65 which in its day was a great bar loader. The BOSS lists for around $35,000.00 and would be in the low 40's installed with capacity sets. Bucci has proven to be very negotiable on pricing though. Probably due to the loss of market share. Iemca was the innovator of the dual pusher system which save on floor space. They also came up with lots of innovations to help reduce changeover time.
I've been to the factory and Iemca builds a quality product. I'm still a little leery of their service in the US. They seem to have gotten a handle on parts though and like I said their service is getting better. I know enough about them that I would buy a used one. It's hard to say that would be the right decision for you though.
Finally you have MTA. They import bar loaders from Taiwan and also sell the Spego product line. If you decide on a Spego, I would buy it through MTA. Their service is better. They have really good service techs, but being a smaller company they don't have very many. so sometimes you have to wait a little. Fortunately their stuff is fairly trouble free despite coming from Taiwan. They are very involved with the factory and have a lot of input into their products.
The bar feeder you'd be interested in would be the Eagle 545 which is made by Fedek who is owned by LNS. Wierd, eh? Anyway the Eagle 545 lists for around 28,000.00 and to that you have to add installation. The eagle is also very similar to the Iemca 542. Maybe not an exact copy but pretty darn close.
MTA also sells Bruening from Germany. I don't have current pricing but they are far and away the most expensive bar loader on the planet. But the cool thing is that they changeover automatically. You enter in the bar size and the thing goes through all sorts of gyrations, changes the channel size, and adjusts itself all automatically.
MTA -
http://www.barfeeder.com/ Pages/Barloaders.html#Anchor-MT-1199
A great source for used bar feeder and loaders is Automatics and Machinery
Bar feeders -
http://inv.automatics.com/q/webinv/000682=list,4603,0B1103
Bar Loaders -
http://inv.automatics.com/q/webinv/000682=list,4603,0B1120
It looks like they've got a bunch of choices that will work for you. Don't be afraid to negotiate hard on used. If you have any questions on these or any other bar feeds let me know.
