EDGE Patriot 338: Questions & Answers

1. Begin with the guide channel closed and the bar pusher one foot forward from the rearmost position from the lathe.
2. Press and hold the [Forward] and [Reverse] jog buttons on the remote control pendant.
3. After approximately 8 seconds the bar pusher will begin to move toward the rear of the bar feeder.
4. As soon as the bar pusher begins moving rearward release the two buttons. The bar pusher will continue moving toward the rear until the home proximity switch is turned on, completing the resetting of the zero point.

The remnant length is controlled by the parameters:

1. “Max End of Bar” and “Part Length”
2. Distance from the chuck or guide bushing the cut-off occurs.
3. Length of the material in the guide channel.

The front limit position is the farthest the bar pusher can travel forward into the lathe. The part length is the sum of the overall part length, the width of the cut-off tool and the amount of material left for facing.

When the pusher doesn’t have enough travel left to move the distance in the part length parameter before reaching the front limit position the [End of Bar] signal is sent.

If the remnant is too long, verify the front limit position parameter and the part length parameter. Keep in mind that on all lathes there will be a certain amount of unusable material. This unusable length can be measured by moving the bar pusher as far as possible into the lathe and measuring from the cut-off tool to the inside of the bar feeder collet stop.

For Swiss type lathes move the headstock to the cut-off position and measure from the back of the cut-off tool to the stop inside the bar feeder collet. This measurement is your minimum remnant length. The remnant length can be up to one part-length longer than the minimum depending on home much material is remaining.

1. Before beginning reference (re-zero) the bar pusher.
2. For sliding headstock machines only, move the headstock into overtravel toward the guide bushing.
3. For all machines, move the bar pusher with a collet attached, no material in the channel, forward until the bar pusher collet contacts the lathe collet. Smaller diameter bar pushers may travel inside the lathe collet, larger diameter bar pushers may stop sooner at the back of the collet or at the collet sleeve.
4. Record the position of the bar pusher from the bar feeder screen.
5. Enter the position minus 3mm (1/8 inch) in the [Max. End of Bar] parameter on parameter page 11. There are two [Max. End of Bar] parameters on this page, one for Chuck and one for Collet. This is to allow the use of different chucking systems without the need to reset the end of bar setting each time the change is made. The button to the right of the [Facing Length] button on parameter page 3 selects either Chuck or Collet setting.

[Please note that if the guide channel size is changed the bar pusher of the new channel may have a different stopping point in the spindle than the bar pusher originally used to set up the machine. In this case Collet can be set for one diameter channel and Chuck for another.]

The facing distance controls where the new bar stops in the lathe during a bar change.

The value of the parameter is a measurement of the distance from the facing flag to the face of the guide bushing (minus 2 inches, Swiss type lathes only) or to the face of the chuck/collet (Fixed headstock lathes).

1. 1. Measure the distance from the facing flag to the face of collet or guide bushing with a steel tape measure.
   2. Enter the measurement in the [Facing Distance] parameter on parameter page 11.
   3. This will require the Factory Password “0” for access.
   4. Press the [Setup] button, then press> the [Factory] button on the new screen. Press the box with the zeroes under the word [Password] and a keypad will appear.
   5. Press 0 and [Enter].
   6. Parameter screen 11 will appear.
   7. Select the value in [Facing Position Collet] or [Facing Position Chuck] (depending on which is selected on parameter page 3)
   8. Type the new setting.
   9. Press [Enter] to store the change.
   10. Press [Save All] to leave the parameter page and return to the [Manual] screen.

The most common cause for losing the bar from the pusher collet is the lack of a dwell or too small a dwell in the part program after the lathe collet opens and after the lathe collet closes.

The dwell is required to allow time for the signal from the lathe to reach the bar feeder and for the bar feeder to act on the signal.

Looseness in the linkage of the sync device, a worn rotating tip, obstructions to the bar pusher in the channel or nose and slack in the synchronization belt or drive belt can also contribute to losing the stock from the pusher collet.

Check the synchronization device:

1. 1. 1. Load a bar into the lathe collet as normal.
      2. With the bar feeder in manual and the lathe collet open, disconnect the synchronization bar from the lathe and push the bar toward the bar feeder to make a gap.
      3. Close the lathe collet to engage the synchronization.
      4. Pull the synchronization bar toward the lathe.
      5. If the synchronization device is working properly you will not be able to move the sync bar toward the lathe. Do not push the sync bar toward the bar feeder. If the synchronization is working this will pull the bar pusher collet off the material.

When changing to a new job, changes in parameters should be made to the [Part Length] parameter on page 1 should be changed.

The proper setting is the sum of the overall part length + the width of the cut-off tool + any facing stock used. This dimension reflects the total amount of material required to make and cut off one part.

The facing length may need to be altered in case of a left-handed cutoff tool or to provide a longer “stick-out” of material on the bar reload:

1. 1. 1. 1. Locate the [Facing Length] parameter located in [Parameters] page 3.
         2. Adjust the parameter higher or lower as needed. This parameter can be set to a negative value.

The [Open Collet Speed] and [Open Collet Torque] parameters normally are not changed but can adjusted in special cases such as extremely small or large diameters or flexible material. These parameters can be found in [Parameters] page 3.

For Swiss-type lathe applications a ½ second dwell, in the main part program, is recommended.

This comes both after the collet opens and after the collet closes to allow the signal for the lathe collet open to reach the bar feeder and be processed. This also allows time for the synchronization device to release at the collet open signal and to reengage at the closed collet signal.

For fixed headstock lathes a dwell is required in the part program to give the bar feeder time to advance the material for the next part before the collet closes.

The length of dwell is dependent on the length of the part to be feed out.

1. Remove the side panel of the bar feeder. This is the panel with the opening for the hand crank.
2. Move the bar pusher forward so the end of the short pusher is past the grippers.
3. Open the guide channel using the pendant control.This will allow access to a small length of chain in the opening of the chain guard where the long pusher flag would normally be.
   1. Under the side panel toward the rear of the bar feeder is a plate for the servo motor attachment – locate this plate – called a motor mounting plate. This plate has two bolts (in slots) to hold the plate to the bar feeder beam.
   2. Two flathead bolts are used for chain adjustment. These flathead bolts are located & extend from the rear edge of the motor mounting plate through the rear frame plate of the bar feeder.
   3. Check the chain tension by sticking a small screwdriver or allen wrench into the chain between the rollers.
   4. Pull the tool used backward as if trying to fold the chain over itself.
   5. On a properly adjusted chain you should not be able to move the link of the chain more than about 30 degrees from flat.
4. To adjust the chain, loosen the bolts in the slots of the motor mounting plate.
5. Turn the two flathead bolts that extend through the rear frame plate evenly to draw the motor mounting plate to the rear of the bar feeder.
6. When the chain is properly adjusted retighten the motor plate bolts and replace the side panel.
7. Close the guide channel and re-zero the bar pusher.

The Main Steady Rest (also known as 1st anti-vibration device) does not use rollers, only two-piece guide blocks. The later versions of the Moveable Anti-Vibration Device (MAVD) can also use guide blocks but comes standard with rollers.

To adjust the roller:

1. Load a bar into the lathe and close the collet.
2. Push the [Pre-Auto] button (pendant control, top right button) to close the MAVD.
3. Locate the long cap screw with a sleeve and jam nut. This long cap screw is used to adjust the rollers.
4. Turn the screw counterclockwise until no tension is felt on the screw.
5. Press the [Manual] button (pendant control, top center button), then the [Pre Auto] button again to make sure the rollers are closed on the bar.
6. Rotate the adjusting screw clockwise until tension is felt, then rotate the screw clockwise another 1/4 turn.
7. Tighten the jam nut. Press [Manual] to release the rollers.

To determine to correct size bushing blocks for the steady rest convert your stock size to millimeters.

If the size is more than an even millimeter then round up to the next nearest even millimeter and use this number as your steady rest block size. The blocks come only in even millimeter increments. They do have about 1 millimeter of clearance built in. For example – a 22mm block actual measurement is approximately 23mm.

The blocks should never clamp tightly on the material as the friction will damage the blocks and cause debris to enter the lathe spindle and collet.

A minimum 0.5mm clearance per side between the bar stock and the bushing block is recommended.