Drill Presses: Types & Uses
The most commonly used drill press is a single-spindle, floor-mounted, belt-driven machine for non-production drilling. Drill presses use stepped pulleys and belts to transmit force from the motor to the spindle. In this type of drill press, the speed is changed by moving the belt up or down the stepped pulley.
Machinists prefer Variable-Speed Drill Presses when they work with different metals and various tooling that require lots of speed changing. Variable-Speed Drill Presses are usually described as having a fixed number of speeds (e.g., “5-speed”) or being variable speed. Fixed-Speed Drill Presses have a certain number of speeds at which they can operate, and they cannot operate at any speed between these set speeds.
Geared Drill Presses are designed for drilling larger holes than belt-driven machines. They are usually capable of lower spindle speeds and almost always have power quill feed. Geared-Head Drill Presses are ideal for repetitive drilling in a wide variety of materials. These drill presses are equipped with helical gears for smooth and quiet operation, a quick-release drill ejector, and an English/Metric depth gauge.
Choosing the Right Machine
At Onix Machinery, we are trained to work with you to best identify your needs. After a few minutes on the phone, we can determine if a belt-driven machine for non-production drilling is the right machine for you, based on work daily and weekly volume, the size of holes you want to drill and also the type of material you are working with. If your requirements are for speed changes, and being able to work on many types of materials, we’ll suggest you go with one of the Baileigh Variable-Speed Drill Presses. Lastly, if your shop requires repeatability, precision and efficiency we will introduce you to Geared Drill Presses.
