Drilling machines are one of the most common machines found in a metal machine shop. They are used for a wide variety of applications, ranging from drilling simple holes to reaming, tapping, and counterboring. It is extremely important that someone in the market for one of these understands what attributes they should be looking for in relation to what they plan to use the machine with. To help with this, this article will look at the different types of drill presses, listing their unique attributes and explaining how these specific types of drill presses will benefit you.
Upright Sensitive Drill Press
The upright sensitive drill press is a light-duty drilling tool that utilizes a belt drive spindle head on most models. Because of its power and capabilities, it is meant to be used for light-duty work. This type of machine can only be hand-fed, meaning that the user can feel the cut happening. This can be exceedingly useful with around-the-house projects that utilize any light metal or wood.
Upright Drill Press
The upright drill press is a heavy-duty drilling machine that utilizes a geared drive spindle head. As such, you can use this type of machine for larger hole-producing operations that may involve harder or heavier parts. One notable feature with most upright drill presses is that they allow for both automatic feeding and hand feeding. This allows for both precise cuts when you need it and the power to get through tough objects when you need the extra force.
Radial Arm Drill Press
The radial arm drill press is the primary driver of the hole production in the machine shop. It allows for the operator to accurately navigate the spindle over the workpiece. Most radial arm drill presses offer power feed with the spindle and an automatic mechanism that raises and lowers the arm. The wheel head can also be moved along the arm, giving the machine a lot of ease of use. Most radial arm drill presses can fit most drills with a trunnion table and tilting table. In general, this is the type of drill press that would be seen in a professional machine shop.
We hope that this guide has informed you of the different types of drill presses. When shopping for your drill press, choose along the lines of what you envision yourself using it for! Be honest with yourself on what you are willing to do in the future, as there is no sense in overinvesting in a machine you might not use as often as you imagine. If you have any further questions—from vertical bench drills to multiple spindle drilling machines—Kaka Industrial has the answers.