Gun drilling machines are a special kind of drills that use highly compressed air or other suitable fluids to cut into deep holes of depth to diameter ratios that surpasses 400. These drills don’t have helical features like the classic drills, but instead they feature a hardened tip on the front that is where the fluid comes out of and hits the cutting face.
Featuring a fluted rod design, the drill is kept under melting operating temperatures thanks to a circulating coolant that also helps with the removal of the cut material chips. The fluids move through the rod itself, while its pressure is controlled by the machine operator and the main pump.
Characteristics
The tip of the gun drill itself is the point that is called to withstand the deformation forces generated by the extreme pressures. For this reason, gun drill manufacturers choose the strongest metal alloys and composite materials that stay unaffected by intense pressure and sudden temperature changes for many years of operation.
The speed of gun drill machines is one of the strongest characteristics of this tool as high speed drills can bore steel at a rate of 75 cm per minute or even more depending on the diameter. The most significant advantage of deep hole drilling machines, though, is the extreme accuracy with which they can cut through hardened metals. These tools can achieve an astonishing finishing that rarely needs further polishing.
Uses
Boring Gun Barrels
The most common application of gun drilling machines is for boring gun barrels. This is exactly where those tools got their name from after all. All gun barrels feature the high depth to diameter ratios that only gun drills can realize.
The accurate cutting of gun drills makes it possible for very intricate metalwork and produces a smooth finishing on the inner side of the barrel that rarely even needs any polishing at all. This is especially important for guns as bullets that travel at very high speeds could have their trajectory affected by even the slightest deviation.
Molds
Another case that gun drilling machines can come in handy is that of the molds manufacturing. As molten metals have to flow into casting molds through a deep hole, gun drills are used to make that opening.
Manufacturing Tools
A popular application for gun drills is tool manufacturing. There are several types of mechanical tools that feature deep holes that serve as fitting positions for extensions etc. Deep hole drilling machines can help boring the hardened alloys that tools are made of and can even achieve polygonal features.
Making Musical Instruments
Last, there is the musical instrument industry that requires high precision machinery to achieve certain tonal results out of wind instruments. These can be flutes, clarinets, oboes, saxophones, ocarinas, reeds, bassoons and trumpets, as they all include deep holes of great finishing. Although the soft materials that wind instruments are usually made out of don’t require the sheer cutting power of other applications, the cutting precision required can only be met by gun drill machines.
Contact Absolute Machine Tools, Inc. today to learn more about the right CNC machine for your manufacturing needs.
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