A drill press is a device used for creating holes in hard materials by holding a rotating drill bit and feeding it into the workpiece, which is usually clamped in a vise on a table. Drilling systems include rotary drilling, percussion drilling, and rotary-percussion drilling, each with a different method for penetrating soil and rock.
A drilling machine consists of a base, column, drill head, and spindle. The base, typically made of cast iron, can rest on a bench, pedestal, or floor. Different types of drilling machines include upright, sensitive, upright, radial, and special purpose. You can learn about drilling machine here!
Now, let’s go deep to discuss the various components of a drilling machine!
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What are the Major Components of a Drilling Machine?
The major parts of a drilling machine consists of a base, column, upper arm, spindle etc.
Base
These parts of a drilling machine carry the entire weight of the machine and transfer it to the ground. This base is generally made of cast iron or steel due to its strength. the top of the base contains some slots to support the big jobs and the radial column is situated at one side of it. Generally, the base is bolted to the ground, and in some cases, it is supported by two or four legs.
Column or pillar
Just as mentioned earlier column or pillar is situated on one side of the base. The radial column is mostly used due to the fact that it features a movable arm, having the possibility to move clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.
The column is also made of cast iron or steel, as the strength operation is needed so as to carry the load of the arm as well as the drill head. A sliding head table is mounted on the column so that the table can have up and down motion as required.
Upper arm
The drilling machine part carries the drill head and the housing containing the driving mechanism. This material is also made of the same material as the base, making it have a rigid structure. Some manufacturer of drilling machine provides a guideway so the drill head can slide over the upper arm.
Worktable
The worktable is mounted on the column, it is made of cast iron. A t-slot is provided at the top surface of the table and some table contains a vice, depending on the operation to be performed. The worktable is designed to move up and down also right and left according to the job and tool arrangement. The adjustment of the table can be done by hand as well as some electrical mechanisms.
Drill head
A drill head consists of various driving mechanisms. The drill head is mounted to one side of the drill arm and a drill chuck is mounted over it. this drill head is designed to slide up and down depending on the requirement of the job. A V belt is used to transfer the power from the motor to the pulley and from the pulley, the mechanical power is transferred to the drill head. Different speed is generated by the cone pulley mechanism as well as a gear-train mechanism.
Feed mechanism
This drilling machine component receives power from the electric motor to the V belt and pulley. The up and down movement of the drill head is automatically fed by an electrical motor as well as manual feeding, which is done by hand. Rack and pinion can also be used to convert the rotational movement from an electrical motor or by hand to the straight-line movement.
Spindle
The spindle is a circular taper shaft that is used to hold the drill chuck. It is made of high-carbon chromium steel or stainless steel or steel alloys. The rotary motion is transferred from the drill head to the drill jigs, a keyhole is provided on the spindle. This enables the drill chuck to be changed. The rack and pinion mechanism also helps the up and down movement of the spindle.
Chuck
These parts of the drilling machine are mounted on the lower end of the spindle, which holds the drill jig. A keyhole is also provided on this component allowing the drill jigs to be changed. Unlike a lathe, drill chucks are generally self-centering and a three-jaw chuck is used. They are made with special alloy steel.
Electric motor
In a drilling machine, a single-phase ac motor is used, it can run at a rpm of 600 to 5000. More rpm is used for high-drilling machines. The electric motor supplies mechanical power from the pulley to the spindle and allows different speeds.
Pulley or gears
These components are used to transmit power and also for generating different speeds. A bevel gear is used mostly in a drilling machine to transmit power at an angle of 90 degrees. Pulleys are made of cast iron.
Learn about the various types of drilling machines here!
That is all for this article, where i explained the various parts of a drilling machine. I hope it was helpful, if so, kindly share with others. Thanks for reading, see you around!