Deep Hole Drilling of Diesel Engine Components, Transmission Shafts and More

The highly engineered UNE 12-2 compact gundrilling system from UNISIG (Menomonee Falls, WI) brings new levels of increased manufacturing capacity to diesel engine and automotive manufacturers. Whereas a shop may perform deep hole drilling on Swiss automatic machine tools, a dedicated deep hole drilling system such as the UNE 12-2 significantly reduces lead times and provides a higher degree of accuracy and precision. It is easy to install in a shop’s existent CNC machining cells and has an advanced process monitoring and control system that displays real-time machining data to track measurements such as advanced thrust power and coolant pressure and report them back to the operator. This allows the operator to optimize the machine’s operating conditions. The fully programmable coolant system creates ideal temperatures on the cutting surface to eliminate thermal damage to workpieces.

The UNE 12-2 is a high performance drilling machine that increases shop productivity and lowers production costs by bringing more jobs in-house: It is ideal for deep hole drilling fuel rail components for diesel engines and transmission shafts for the automotive industry to blanks for surgical tools in the medical industry. It can also create barrel sizes from .17 caliber to .50 caliber for firearm production. With an optional barrel reamer, the machine performs two steps of the barrel blank production process. Manufactured in the U.S. using high performance parts, this machine features cast iron headstock and chip box components, cartridge spindles with premium quality bearings, and a high precision, preloaded ball screw feed. Its counter rotating workpiece headstock greatly enhances concentricity to dramatically increase the accuracy of finished parts.

UNISIG also offers their versatile, high precision UNI-50BTA deep hole drilling machine that enables operators to rapidly change from BTA to gundrill deep hole drilling tooling for diesel engine and transmission components and more. Holes with diameters as small as 0.31 in (8 mm) and as large as 2.56 in (65 mm) can be drilled at depth-to-diameter hole ratios of 100:1 or greater. The UNI-50BTA makes it possible to drill with either tooling method within the diameter range in the same part without secondary operations. A revolutionary pressure head design enables operators to make the tool change without dismantling the machine, reducing the time for changeover from several hours down to as low as ten minutes. The UNI-50BTA features high accuracy feed and zero-endplay spindles for bottom-forming operations, counter rotation to minimize centerline drift and preloaded ballscrew drives for precise depth control.

As the largest machine in the UNI series, the UNI-50BTA is available in modular lengths, with the longest able to produce centerline bores up to 118.1 in (3,000 mm) deep in the toughest materials. Other drill depths available are 39.4 in (1,000 mm), 59.1 in (1,500 mm), and 78.7 in (2,000 mm). The machines are ideal complements to high efficiency, multitasking turning centers. The system includes BTA and gundrill durable tooling, training, and installation, providing users with all components and knowledge required to begin accurate and efficient production upon installation. The UNI-50BTA employs a multi-lingual interface with process monitoring and graphical display of critical information for ease of operations. Fluid delivery and chip discharge strategies are easily programmed depending on finished tolerance objectives and the starting condition of the parts, while automatic process interruption enables unattended operation for increased productivity.

UNISIG also offers USC-M 7-axis deep-hole drilling and machining centers for improving productivity and efficiency in mold production. These machines can process large and small parts with four-sided machining capability in a single set-up. The USC-M machines utilize two independent spindles: one for gundrilling and BTA drilling and a second CAT 50 machining spindle. When this additional capability is combined with a rotatory workpiece table and programmable headstock inclination, accurate deep-hole drilling and all standard high-performance machining capabilities are available within the working envelope of the system.

The seven axes of control on the M-Series machines utilize the B, A, X, Y and Z axes for 5-axis machining operations, the W-axis for the combined gundrilling and BTA deep-hole drilling spindle, and the U-axis for machining. This provides 3+2 machining to make deep-hole drilling and machining of compound angles faster, easier, and improves productivity and throughput by reducing setups and eliminating changeovers to multiple machines. In fact, using a deep-hole drilling headstock capable of conventional gundrilling and BTA high-performance drilling has proven to be five-to-seven times faster than gundrilling alone. The USC-M series comprises two machines: the USC-M38 that offers a nominal drilling depth of 59.1 in, and the USC-M50 that extends the nominal drilling depth to 72 in. Both machines allow for drilling diameters up to 2 in.

A full complement of options for these machines can further enhance their milling and machining functions, including full-enclosure guarding, a 120-position automatic tool changer, a laser tool pre-setter and probing. Upon machine installation, UNISIG provides users with comprehensive training that involves machine operation and process optimization, as well as gundrill tool sharpening. They also offers customers reference information and practical advice for proper machine operation.

UNISIG, N58 W14686 Shawn Circle, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051, 262-252-3802, www.unisig.com.