Gundrill Solutions Offers
At your fingertips, our consulting expertise encompasses every aspect of the deep hole and shallow hole drilling process from 1mm to 3” in diameter. No matter what type of machines you have: Gundrill Machines, Machines, Swiss Machines, CNC & Conventional Lathes and Machine Tools, we have a Solution to meet and exceed your production needs.
Some of the areas which we make make ourselves available are listed below through phone communication as well as our ability to visit your facility and perform an in-depth process evaluation.
Additionally, we are your source for New Machine Tool Recommendations and used Machine locator.
ON SITE CONSULTATION CRITERIA CONTOURED TO YOUR FACILITY
(REQUEST A QUOTE)
Feeds and Speeds Recommendations on new or existing applications
When is it time to re-sharpen a tool
How to read a tool to decipher if my running conditions are optimal
Tool life problems
Run-out problems
Nose Geometry/re-sharpen questions or enhancements
Which contours or backtaper would be best for your application
When is it time to replace your bushings or what are the Pilot Hole specs
What is the maximum unsupported length I can have before my tool will whip to maximize my SFM
Training
Are your whip supports adequate for the process and when should you replace the bearings and supports
Is your coolant the best available and when should you change it
When should you replace your filters and what’s the best micron filtration for the material being machined
How will a coating benefit my application and what’s the best coating for the material being machined
What’s the best finish (Ra) I can expect from a coated Gundrill
What’s the best run-out can you expect from a Gundrill
What controls should be in place to ensure consistent quality and repeatability
Is there a faster more efficient way to change tools
Which tool holders are recommended
What can be done for better chip control
Are spindle extensions recommended
What’s the best carbide grade for a given application
What’s the best tool type and design for an existing or new application
Is the coolant PSI and volume adequate for my application
Do you need a chiller
It might be time for someone to come in and take a complete overview of the process
On-Site Consulting – Not Limited To
Nose Geometries – Evaluate and determine what’s best for the application, newer nose configurations are currently being utilized application specific. Review re-grind process and re-train where applicable.
Contours – Depending on finish requirements and hole tolerances, different contours (bearing pads) may be applied to enhance the process.
Backtaper – Depending on hole tolerances and material being drilled the backtaper of the carbide may need to be increased or decreased to achieve more re-sharpens, decreased margin-wear, etc.
Bushing sizes – Bushing sizes are critical to maintain excessive run-out and consistency, eliminate carbide chipping. The intervals of replacing them needs to be identified and put into preventative maintenance protocol.
Pilot Holes – If not using starter bushings pilot holes need to be controlled with the same processes as dedicated bushings. The size control of the pilot hole needs to be maintained consistent from hole to hole. A tight pilot hole will wipe-out the margin of the tool and cause poor finishes, pick-up on the OD, and eventually catastrophic failure. The re-grind process needs to identify and remove a smeared margin.
Maximum Unsupported lengths – When determining the proper SFM to run a given material you must observe the diameter and unsupported length of the tool to prevent whipping. Many times a tool won’t whip until it gets a load on it and accumulates some wear then catastrophic failure. Knowing the safe parameters will eliminate this consequence. Most cases with smaller tools the recommended SFM can’t be obtained and adjustments need to be made to the feeds and speeds.
Whip Supports – With a dedicated Gundrill machine the maximum unsupported length needs to be observed and when the limit is reached a whip support needs to be added to maximize the SFM per given materials machinability specifications. Non-conventional machines need to observe this process very closely and reduce the SFM to obtain proper whip limitations most of the time reducing feeds and speeds.
Coolant Selection – today everyone has the best coolant - ask any salesman. Gundrill oil with sulfur and chlorine works best but many facilities won’t allow Chlorine so there are many substitutes. Water based coolants with high pressure EP (extreme pressure packages) work well at 10% concentration the downside is maybe 40% less tool life. Coatings are used for added lubricity and better tool life.
Filtration – changing filters with proper micron is essential for pump life, hole finish, coolant temperatures.
Coatings – there are many coatings available for specific materials. Coatings add lubricity and some added tool life, but the most beneficial aspect is hole finishes (Ra) under 16 or better.
Run-out expectations and controls – Gundrills maintain size, finish and run-out consistently from part to part. If this is not the case then the starter hole, feeds and speeds or sharpening needs to be adjusted. Tight run-out tolerances require counter-rotation.
Tool Settings – tool settings on conventional Gundrill machines are time consuming from re-sharp to re-sharp. The addition of a pre-set adjustment nut and bolt eliminates having to adjust the depth and retract dogs thus allowing you to put the tool in the holder and press start.
Tool Holders – tool holders vary from machine to machine, conventional Gundrills machines have the holder built into the spindle but non-conventional machines utilize a variety of holders from Cat-50’s to ER Style collets (which is perfect for Swiss type machines)
Chip Control – It’s important to evacuate chips as fast as possible and by adjusting the nose geometries makes a great difference for repeatability. There are other times chip breakers are required to break a large chip and eliminate chip wrap on the tool or in the chip box.
Spindle extensions –These are used on conventional Gundrill machines to enable using the shortest tool possible for an application to maximize SFM. Sometimes it’s required to go into the chip box with an extension. There are cases when a tool can’t run at a very high SFM, but the extension can’t run that fast and a precision balanced one needs to be acquired.
Identifying when it's time to re-grind a Gundrill will repeat from part to part if the tools is re-ground the same each time. The tool will tell you (reading a tool) how it’s running and making a change to the feeds and speeds will result in even wear, no corner rounding, or more parts before re-sharpening is needed.
What to look for before re-grinding – Corner rounding, uneven wear, chipping, margin wear, pick-up on the OD. All will tell you what to clean-up at re-grind and any adjustments that need to be made.
Number of parts before re-grind – A system should be in place to re-sharpen the tool at a given point to alleviate the possibility of making scrap parts or breaking a tool. Once a tool has been re-ground to it’s limit it should be sent back to the manufacturer for re-tipping for a cost savings.
Part presentation