Our 13 Acme-Gridley Multi-Spindle Bar Machines

The Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine was designed by George Gridley and the Windsor Manufacturing Company which was based in Vermont. Windsor Manufacturing Company was acquired by National Acme in 1915 and the Acme-Gridley brand of automatic multi-spindle bar machines was born.

The machine's operation begins by loading six bars of raw material stock, one in each spindle. The bar is fed to a stock stop, which is adjusted to a predetermined length. The machine cycle continues as the cross slide tools and the end slide tools simultaneously perform their assigned machine functions on all six bars. This cuts the amount of time to produce a part to approximately one sixth of the time that it would take on a single-spindle machine. The cycle time is determined by the time period taken for the longest operation. Because of the automatic operation of the bar feed and automated tooling movements the skilled operator is able to control multiple machines and produce parts efficiently.

Our machines produce parts up to 4" in diameter and up to 10" in length. Wolverine Machine's Acme-Gridley's are configured to process 16 foot long bars which allows a more cost effective use of material compared to machines processing standard 12 foot long bars. There are also a wide variety of attachments for the Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine, which allows Accelerated Reaming, OD and ID Threading, High Speed Drilling, Flat Milling, Broaching, Internal Recessing, Burnishing, and Back Finishing.

It is often found that the multi-spindle bar machines are very cost effective for medium to high volume production parts due to the possibility of short cycle times. This is a product of the simultaneous and progressive machining of material on all of the spindles. Many times as a result of the accuracy, short cycle times, and the ability to perform concurrent functions, multi-spindle bar machines are able to eliminate secondary functions dramatically lowering costs. To see a short video of our facility click here.

Wolverine Machine’s Bar Machines

• 2 – 9/16” RA-6 Acme-Gridley Bar Machine
• 4 – 1-1/4” RA-6 Acme-Gridley Bar Machine
• 4 – 2-5/8” RA-6 Acme-Gridley Bar Machine
• 3 – 4” RA-6 Acme-Gridley Bar Machine