Bent bar stock jams Iemca barfeeders on Star Swiss Machines

Hi All,
We run 20 Star Swiss machines and we are constantly battling our bar stock suppliers for better quality. We typically have good luck on 5/16" and up, but on jobs that require say 1/4" Hex 303ss we end up with bars that are bent enough to cause problems. We developed an inspection process which rejects bars that we know will cause alarms, but the suppliers all say we are 'too picky' and that they can sell it to any of their other customers. Our spec is not nearly as stringent as what the bar feeder specifications call for either.

What do you guys recommend?

thanks

I would strongly consider another supplier. We have gotten to the point if the stock comes into the shop bent, we send it back, or ask for a discount for the bent bars.

We also pay extra to have the load boxed to protect it. The bars don't come bent from the mill, they usually get bent by being mishandled at the warehouse.

same problem in here, they load it on the truck like potatoes. First solution - new supplier (like MikeMc said), second - make them to send the bar stock in wooden boxes, third - well, if possible cut the stock by half and use it if first two solutions cannot help...

Thank you for the replies. I agree that finding a new supplier seems like the best option, and we have indeed done this. Now it seems that every supplier in town is pissed at us for rejecting material that they claim is 'good'. We have had to switch to buying some high quantity stock straight from the mill to ensure good quality, but this option isn't possible on all materials due to the wide variety of sizes and shapes.

Maybe I'll start a Minnesota thread dedicated to sharing supplier reviews and experiences?

we have two multispidle lathes on the floor, it took a while before we found out material was the problem (a lot of alarm messages and broken tools) but people making bar stock don't work with +-.0002 tolerance so they don't understand how important it is to have good stuff in your barfeeder. BTW - that new thread is not a bad idea...

Best solution to crappy material I ever found:

http://www.schmolz-bickenbach.us/index.php?id=5251

Well, for stainless steels anyhow. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PixMan

Best solution to crappy material I ever found:

http://www.schmolz-bickenbach.us/index.php?id=5251

Well, for stainless steels anyhow. ;)

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Met with a couple of their sales guys yesterday, about some possible inherent stress issues in some 304 (not in material from them). They were very helpful, and are sending in some sample stock, and hopefully it will solve today's problem.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pneumadyne

Thank you for the replies. I agree that finding a new supplier seems like the best option, and we have indeed done this. Now it seems that every supplier in town is pissed at us for rejecting material that they claim is 'good'. We have had to switch to buying some high quantity stock straight from the mill to ensure good quality, but this option isn't possible on all materials due to the wide variety of sizes and shapes.

Maybe I'll start a Minnesota thread dedicated to sharing supplier reviews and experiences?

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Let them be pissed, there is a straightness call out as well as a diameter call out on bar stock. If they damage the material beyond the industry standard, its their responsibility to take it back. All they need to do is train the people that work for them, the same as we do.

Schmolz-Bickenbach does have great stainless, but they seem to be out of EVERYTHING, they just didn't order much when the economy turned. We had to go the Carpenter for most of our stuff now.

As much as I always try to "Buy American", I've had nothing but frustration out of Carpenter. In my experience with using their high-end Project 70 303 stainless, their claim of being 'highest quality, most consistent' material is BS. I've gotten Project 70 303 that was all over the map on machineability.

It's expensive, and IMO, just not worth paying for the marketing. That seems to be where the money is, not in true quality control.

With the economy down, you'd think suppliers would be doing a better job of listening to customer concerns.

Until they do, are you using a press to straighten your bar stock?

Also, I've heard of small straighteners consisting of four sets of rollers. Driven by fractional HP motor and bike chains.

Two steel plates, sixteen bearings, eight shafts, five sprockets with various nuts and bolts and you're in business.

Can't take much more time to fabricate than you're already losing on messing with the bent stuff.

I can stop by if you like as I am in Bloomington.

Hope this helps,

Fin

We have had some of the same problems so on some materials we have had to shorten the lengths of the material we receive. So on 1/2 round and below I believe we get in 12' lengths instead of 20'.