Bar feeder question - setup

Hi Guys,
So I acquired a used CNC lathe a few months ago, but just getting around to setting it all up now that the new workshop is finished. (Yama Seiki GLS-150). It came with a Fedek DH65L bar-feeder. I have never used a bar-feeder before or had to set one up.

Looking at some of the newer machines out there now like Haas and others, the smaller type bar feeders often seem to be set up on a sliding ways system whereby you can disengage some locking latches and push the bar feeder back in the direction of the x-axis, so that you can then easily access the rear of the spindle in order to change spindle liners, etc. On the machine that we uplifted, it was bolted firmly in place to the concrete floor. I don't really want to duplicate that set-up, as I would prefer to not have to bolt into the floor if possible. I also want to make it easy to get the BF out of the way without having to resort to a crane or some other method of lifting and sliding it out of the way.

So, my question is, are there any companies that are making a sliding-rails type of conversion kit for the Fedek barfeeders, or anything else that may be similar? Sure, we could make and design something ourselves if required, but like most small shops I am so maxed-out on time as it is at the moment, that i would prefer in the first instance to try to see if there is anything available commercially, before sinking a huge amount of time into another project that may take me 12-18 months of spare time to sort out, if I have to design and build something from scratch. Pics attached. Thanks in advance. Regards, Dean.

Well, if you want a buy a turn key product, have you contacted the barfeeder mfg'er?
I would ass_u_me that the "roll-away" feature was an option.

Another option that may be somewhere between building your own and buying a turn-key, would be to find a junk feeder on e-bay or whatnot that has that feature.
For $500 you can prolly find a junk LNS with a dead GE CPU.
You may have to ask around to find sumpthing like that as who's trying to market a dead unit, but I found a LH unit like that for a "special" machine.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Just my opinion, but there's no way that the bar feeder is designed so that you can't change spindle liners easily enough.
I'd say if you hook it to the lathe and operate it manually that the carriage the bars slide on moves up or down or somewhere out of the way so you have access to change the spindle liner.
You'll have to bolt it to the floor or it will be moving all over the place and won't load bars.
You could fix it to the machine some way I suppose.

Mine aren't bolted to the floor.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Maybe you won’t need to bolt it to the floor then.

Ox said:

Well, if you want a buy a turn key product, have you contacted the barfeeder mfg'er?
I would ass_u_me that the "roll-away" feature was an option.

Another option that may be somewhere between building your own and buying a turn-key, would be to find a junk feeder on e-bay or whatnot that has that feature.
For $500 you can prolly find a junk LNS with a dead GE CPU.
You may have to ask around to find sumpthing like that as who's trying to market a dead unit, but I found a LH unit like that for a "special" machine.


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

Click to expand...

Thanks, but down this way the chances of picking up a written-off barfeeder are slim, let alone one that has a slide retract system on it. I'll make some enquiries though, as you never know, there is a chance i guess......

can you just set your bar size on the feeder to a size big enough to clear the liner flange size?