Abstract: Elongate round workpieces W (e.g. bar or tube) are loaded singly from a rack (252) on to a supporting cradle formed by four ball castors (38). At each end of the cradle is an upper operating unit (20) and (22) comprising a machining unit having a chamfering tool (34) and a workpiece-driving unit having a driving wheel (32) in frictional engagement with the workpiece. The wheels (32) are rotated about their axes to rotate the workpiece, and further can be pivoted to each side of a neutral position in order to drive the workpiece along its length into engagement with first one chamfering tool and then the other. The operating units are mounted on upper guide rails (16) and (18) for adjustment of the distance between them. Lower operating units mounted on lower guide rails (24) and (26) comprise deburring tools (36) which also operate on the workpiece ends, adjacent to the chamfering tools (34).

Abstract: In an automatic bar and wire pointing machine, workpiece-feeding means comprises a carrier having two feeding wheels (38,40) mounted on a driving shaft (20). Each wheel comprises a circular pitch plate (42) providing four sets of six notches (N1, N2, N3, N4) spaced uniformly around its periphery; the notches form semi-circular recesses (R1, R2, R3, R4) of different diameters to accommodate different sizes of workpiece, and the recesses are all centered on a common pitch circle (P) of the pitch plate. The wheel comprises also a picker plate (44) comprising six lobes (66) which are spaced uniformly about the axis of the wheel and form radially-projecting edges (68) positioned adjacent to the notches of any selected one of the four sets of notches.

Abstract: An assembly capable of use in removing material from both ends of an elongated workpiece, such as a bar incorporates two similar pieces of apparatus of a known kind. Each apparatus has a cutter mounted at one end of a flexible drive and rotatable by a motor about its own axis to effect removal of the material; the cutter is supported in a universal mounting enabling the cutter to swing in a closed path about the axis of the cutter. The cutter is biased inwards towards the axis. The invention provides positioning means for moving the cutters aside into loading positions so that a finished workpiece can be removed laterally and a new one introduced laterally. The positioning means on each apparatus includes means for shifting the motor towards the universal mounting so as to cause the flexible drive to bow more markedly and move the cutter further from the axis, and a deflector for engaging the cutter-end of the flexible drive and moving it to its loading position.