Definition and Characteristics of Bar Stock
– Bar stock is a form of raw purified metal used in manufacturing metal parts and products.
– It is available in various shapes such as round, rectangular, square, and hexagonal.
– Bar stock has an enclosed invariant convex cross-section.
– Pipes, angle stock, and objects with varying diameter are not considered bar stock.
– Bar stock is processed through sawing, turning, milling, drilling, and grinding to produce the final product.
Process and Types of Bar Stock
– Metal produced by steel mills or aluminum plants is formed into long continuous strips, which are cut into segments to become bar stock.
– The most common shapes of bar stock are round, rectangular, and hexagonal.
– Tube and pipe have hollow centers and are not considered bar stock.
– Common structural shapes like angle stock and channel stock are also not considered bar stock.
– In a machine shop, bar stock is often referred to as billet.
Machining with Bar Stock
– Bar stock is selected from storage and brought to the machining area to create metal components.
– Turning is a process where a piece of the bar is cut off using a horizontal bandsaw to create a blank for each part.
– For smaller-diameter work, the entire length of bar stock is fed through the spindle of the lathe.
– CNC lathes and screw machines have accessories called bar feeders that hold, guide, and feed the bar as commanded by the CNC control.
– Bar loaders are used for lights-out machining, allowing the machine to run unattended.
Uses of Bar Stock
– Bar stock is widely used in industries such as forging, extrusion, and machining.
– In forging, billets are heated and pressed to shape the workpiece.
– Extrusion uses rollers to push heated bar stock through dies to determine the shape of the workpiece.
– Machining with bar stock allows for intricate details that are not possible through other processes.
– Bar stock is a versatile material used in many different industrial processes.
Standard Sizes of Bar Stock
– Stocking every possible size of bar stock is impossible, so it is stocked in various standard sizes.
– Metals supply houses stock bar stock in discrete steps, such as round bars with diameters of even millimeters.
– Nonstandard sizes can be obtained but are more expensive and have longer delivery times.
– Engineering drawings specify a certain size or maximum size for the bar to avoid wasted expense and delays.
– Standard sizes are used wherever possible to avoid unnecessary expenses and delays. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_rod
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Bar stock, also (colloquially) known as blank, slug or billet, is a common form of raw purified metal, used by industry to manufacture metal parts and products. Bar stock is available in a variety of extrusion shapes and lengths. The most common shapes are round (circular cross-section), rectangular, square and hexagonal. A bar is characterised by an "enclosed invariant convex cross-section", meaning that pipes, angle stock and objects with varying diameter are not considered bar stock.
Bar stock is commonly processed by a sequence of sawing, turning, milling, drilling and grinding to produce a final product, often vastly different from the original stock. In some cases, the process is partially automated by specialized equipment which feeds the stock into the appropriate processing machine.
