EZ-Puller – Accudyne Products Q&A

Q: How would you describe your company’s primary business?
A: Accudyne Products LLC is a job shop machine shop that offers machine shop services to the aerospace, medical, power generation, and water testing industries.

Q: In brief, what is the history of the EZ-Puller?
A: The EZ-Puller came about after many frustrating setups with an industry-standard bar puller. Accudyne Products does a lot of short-run production lathe work with very expensive material. There was a need for a reliable bar puller that would set up quickly on different-sized bars and pull the bar with great repeatability. The tool was developed over the course of four weeks with continual testing on in-house equipment. The EZ-Puller first went on sale in March of 2013, a utility patent was issued for the tool in 2016, and is now sold worldwide through distribution as well as direct through Accudyne Products LLC.

Q: What advantages are there to the EZ-Puller over traditional Bar Pullers?
A: The EZ-Puller only needs to be set up one time. This is done by mounting the tool in the machine, then identifying the centerline of the grippers with the centerline of the lathe. When changing from one bar size to another, all the programmer needs to do is to change the “X” value for the destination of the first “X” move of the bar puller routine. The unique design of the EZ-Puller also gives the tool the versatility to pull hex stock and square stock without spindle orientation (watch the video). The grippers are made of hardened tool steel and have a close pitch buttress thread design that minimizes material penetration while ensuring high repeatability.

Q: What questions do your customers frequently ask?
A: Customers frequently ask, “Do the grippers of the EZ-Puller leave a mark on the material being pulled?” The answer is yes. However, these marks can be mitigated by installing a softer (80A durometer as opposed to the standard 95A) urethane spring in the tool.

Q: What successes has your company had this past year?
A: Our greatest success is when existing customers return to buy more EZ-Pullers after they have run their first EZ-Puller for a while. Some of our largest customers have the EZ-Puller installed on all of their lathes.

Q: What do you want to see in the future for the industry?
A: I observe the innovative spirit and the problem-solving ability of the American machinist, and know that our productivity and quality will continue to rise. I look at where we have come in the last forty years when I started my career, and I am amazed. I can’t help but wonder where we will be in the next forty years. What I would like to see in the future for our industry is more educational options for young people that like to work with their hands as well as their minds.