[metalman23]

Hey guys I'm new here, I build a lot of cable rail posts for my business, and I end up drilling a lot of holes(sometimes thousands per job) in 2x2 aluminum tubing and sometimes stainless. If I could make, or buy a machine that could drill them for me, that would speed up production time and increase profitability,

It really only needs to have 2 axis, I don't know whey to start, could I use a milling machine? Or could I build something easily enough,

Also how would I program it, would I use something like Mach 3 to run it? And I would need some sort of cam software,


I currently own a plasma table, and am somewhat familiar with the cad cam process.



And ideas or advice would be appreciated, thanks!

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[peteeng]

Hi Vahdat - You may as well build a 3 axis machine so it drills for you. Most controllers are 3 or 4 axis and by the time you go 2 you may as well go 3. I think the question is how do you envision the machine? Will it be the same length as your job? 1m 2m 6m? I'd use a single box controller (theres more to M3 and M4 then just itself you need a motion controller) and I recommend Fusion CAD CAM. But there are 100's of CAD CAM solutions. The Z axis would use a drill similar to what you use now. Peter

[awerby]

If the holes are all in a straight line down the middle of the tubes, it seems that you should be able to build a 2-axis machine fairly easily that would do this for you. Think of an easily loadable jig that would hold the tubes securely, so they wouldn't deflect under drilling pressure. This could be made from wood or metal. Then you either need to move it past a stationary drill press that's activated by a stepper or servo motor, or move the drill press along its length. Moving the tube would give you a more stable drilling action, but a bigger footprint. Moving the drill would keep it more compact but at the cost of a more wobbly drill press. You could use a program like Mach3 or LinuxCNC to run it on a PC, and you'd need a control box with stepper or servo drivers. If that seems like too much to deal with, you could make the thing so it's hand-powered instead of CNC, and use a crank to move the jig past a regular drill press, with marks on it to show you where to stop cranking and pull the lever.

[peteeng]

Hi Vahdat - I assume by cable rail post you mean a balustrade post like attached. The simplest machine would be a two axis machine. The bed would have vices on it that would be set up so the job was on centre. I'd use a ballscrew drive for X and Z axis. But I'd consider using a rack and pinion for the X axis so you make it to take two posts or even three posts long ie do 2 or 3 or 4 posts in one set up. The Z axis would be programmed and you can vary the spacing and position via a CAM program. The Z axis would hold a suitable drill and be controlled in feed speed up and down. The posts would have a stop at the left side or right side as a register. Lock and load walk away come back 10min later... unload repeat Peter

If a saddle is added (eg Y motion) you can clamp two posts into the vice alongside each other (ie ganged) and machine 4 or 6 at once. The longer the cycle time the more someone gets done elsewhere. If you had suitable end clamps maybe 4 ganged is possible...

[routalot]

Drilling multiple holes in a large number of pieces is quite a common woodworking task.A multiborer will do it but the machines are probably not suited to the speeds and feeds that work with metal.Which doesn't mean you can't adapt the clamping technology for your purposes.They use pneumatic rams which are activated by the cycle start process to clamp the workpiece and that may work for this intended application.Whether multiple drilling heads or a moveable and programmable single head would be best is something for the user to determine.

[metalmayhem]

if drilling is the only thing it will do in it's life then I'd probably modify a large drillpress and go with a concept similar to how a hydmech bandsaw works . Except , I'd use a couple pneumatic vices and a stepper driven lead screw for the moving vise rather than the hydraulics they use . That would be assuming the holes run in a straight line down the tubing . Programming it for something like mach would be basic hand coding

[Metalman23]

Hey guys I was the one who started this thread, somehow that username stopped working.

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, there's so many different ways to make a cnc machine, and it's quite overwhelming, standalone controller, or Mach 3/4 or Linux cnc, or grbl with an arduino.

Could I just buy an already made mill and put a spindle in it suitable for drilling? It would save me a lot of time and headaches vs building one, but I really do want to figure out how to make these things, I have a lot of things I'd like to do in my fab shop

[peteeng]

Hi Metal - The cheapest/fastest way into the game is to find a used cnc mill or buy a kit cnc. Designing and building your own machine can take a lot of effort and time. Where are you on the planet? Peter

[Metalman23]

Hi Metal - The cheapest/fastest way into the game is to find a used cnc mill or buy a kit cnc. Designing and building your own machine can take a lot of effort and time. Where are you on the planet? Peter

I'm in CT USA, I'm not opposed to a kit at all

[peteeng]

Hi Metal - Avid CNC & shopbottools are popular kit suppliers in the USA - You would mount a drill not a spindle.. Peter

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[cheriLongsworth]

Don't get mach 3. Chinese controllers for mach 3 are very limited in functionality (primitive)