A radial drilling, also known as radial arm press machine, is one of the most common and useful machines employed in the industry. It has a geared drill head that is placed on an arm assembly. This arm assembly can be moved around to the extent of its arms reach. Some of the advanced uses of the machine include reaming, tapping, spot facing and counter drilling. The drilling machine is meant for drilling small to large and heavy workpieces. Radial Drill Machine consists of the following parts:
- Radial Arm – In radial drilling machine, the radial arm holds and supports the drill head assembly and can be moved around on the extent of its length.
- Column – Column is the part of the radial arm drill press which holds the radial arm. It fixes itself and the radial arm to the base and allows seamless movement of the arm.
- Elevating Screw – Elevating screw is a piece of metal with screw-like circular thread. It helps in adjusting the vertical height of the radial arm by raising or lowering it.
- On/Off Button – This button has a simple function of activating or deactivating the drill press.
- Arm Clamp – Arm Clamp provides support and holds both, the column and the radial arm.
- Table – Table is the part of the machine placed just below the radial arm. It is where the workpieces are fixed and worked on. This component and be raised, lowered or rotated in order to facilitate the drilling process.
- Base – This part is fixed to the ground and is directly attached to the table and the column. This way it provides support to the whole mechanism.
- Spindle – This part is attached at the mouth of the radial arm. It is the rotating part of the drill press and holds the drill head.
- Drill Head – Drill head is the part of the drill press that penetrates through the material or workpiece. It is attached to the radial arm by the spindle.
Working: The workpiece is fixed on the table. Height and reach of the radial arm are adjusted before starting the drilling process. Once everything is arranged, the drill is turned on and the drill chuck is lowered with help of a radial drill. The hole is generated in a workpiece by exerting large force via drill head as it is lowered. This large force is resultant of high-speed rotation drill head. The drilling of hole and removal of metal is resultant of shearing and extrusion.
Conclusion
Radial drill machine is an efficient and easy-to-use machine. There are a number of advantages of using the radial arm drill press. One of these advantages is that radial is free to move around during drill. This flexible movement provides a large amount of area that it can cover which is only dependent on the length of the arm. Another advantage is the high rate of production that it allows since the arm can actually swivel out of the working area allowing cranes and derricks to quickly place workpieces on the table.