A Really Cool Bar (-Fed Machining Center)

Bar-fed machining centers are just plain neat. They allow unattended production of all sorts of intricate workpieces like the one above out of barstock. This particular sample part, which features a serrated jaw for a medical clamp, was created on a Willemin 408MT machine. I got it at Eastec a few years ago. Recently, I happened upon this short video showing one of these machines creating that sample part. The video does a good job of demonstrating the multi-axis movement and backworking capability these atypical machines offer.

After you check out the video, be sure to read about a shop I visited in Florida that uses these machines to produce complex medical components. Read "Successfully Feeding the Medical Market."

And thanks to Paige Henderson, our summer intern, for being the hand model for the shot above. My hands don’t lend themselves to photography like hers…