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8.3 Machine Components

Micky R. Jennings

Full right side view of variable speed drill press with power feed. The base, column, head, table, and motor are labeled.
Figure 8.7. Full right side view of variable speed drill press with power feed. The base, column, head, table, and motor are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
Full left side view of a sensitive drill press. The base, column, head, table and motor are labeled.
Figure 8.8. Full left side view of a sensitive drill press. The base, column, head, table and motor are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

It is important that all drill press operators are familiar with the components of the machinery they are using. Getting to know the equipment, features, and functionality will help the machinist perform work in the safest and most efficient manner, as well as give them the industry specific nomenclature necessary to effectively communicate with coworkers.

Base

A drill press base bolted to a concrete floor. A drill press column is bolted to the base. The column, tee slots, base, and floor mounting points are labeled.
Figure 8.9. A drill press base bolted to a concrete floor. A drill press column is bolted to the base. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
A drill press base bolted to a concrete floor. A drill press column is bolted to the base. The column, tee slots, base, and floor mounting points are labeled.
Figure 8.10. A drill press base bolted to a concrete floor. A drill press column is bolted to the base. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The baseof the machine is the supporting feature, typically made of heavy cast iron. It is often bolted to the floor for maximum stability. The base includes a flat surface used to bolt large parts by way of the integrated tee slots. The back of the base is where the column is attached.

Column

A drill press column with a drill press table attached. The table, rack gear, column and base are labeled.
Figure 8.11. A drill press column with a drill press table attached. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
A drill press column with a drill press table attached. The table, rack gear, column and base are labeled.
Figure 8.12. A drill press column with a drill press table attached. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The columnis a precision cylindrical shaped rigid tube that is attached to the base. The column provides support for the other components, tying them to the base. The head of the drill press is located at the top of the column, while the table travels between the base and head.

Table

A drill press table attached to the column. The column, tee slots, table, table locks, table height adjustment handle, and base are labeled.
Figure 8.13. A drill press table attached to the column. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
A drill press table attached to the column. The column, tee slots, table, table lock, table height adjustment handle, and base are labeled.
Figure 8.14. A drill press table attached to the column. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The tableof the drill press is designed to support the work. The operator positions the table along the column and locks it in place. It is adjustable up and down, rotates side to side, and may rotate or twist to suit different hole making operations. The up and down movement sometimes employs a mechanism for ease of adjustment.

Head

A drill press head mounted on top of the column. The pulley cover, quill and power feed engagement handles, spindle, head, motor, column and table are labeled.
Figure 8.15. A drill press head mounted on top of the column. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
A drill press head mounted on top of the column. The pulley cover, quill handles, power buttons, spindle, head, motor, and column are labeled.
Figure 8.16. A drill press head mounted on top of the column. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The headis attached at the top of the column and contains the electrical components, on/off switches, gearing, pulleys, quill, and spindle. On the right side of the head is a handle for moving the quill up and down to create movement for the hole-making operations. The motor is mounted at the back of the head.

Motor

An electric motor mounted to the back of a drill press head. The spindle speed range chart, head, spindle speed range adjustment rod, motor, motor adjustment lever, column and table are labeled.
Figure 8.17. An electric motor mounted to the back of a drill press head. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
An electric motor mounted to the back of a drill press head. The head, motor position lock knob, motor adjustment lever, motor, column, and table are labeled.
Figure 8.18. An electric motor mounted to the back of a drill press head. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The motoris the power source for the drill press, and it is attached to the drill press head. Motors come in various horsepower ratings, depending on the size of the drill press and the intended work performed. During operation, the motor turns a series of belts and pulleys to rotate the spindle.

Pulleys

Adjustable speed range pulley on the right, connected to drill press spindle and powerfeed. The spindle pulley, belts, power feed pulley, idler pulley, belt, adjustable pulley, head, spindle speed range adjustment rod, and motor are labeled.
Figure 8.19. Adjustable speed range pulley on the right, connected to drill press spindle and powerfeed. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
Single speed motor connected to drill press spindle through stepped pulleys for speed adjustment. The spindle pulley, idler pulley, belts, spindle speed chart, motor pulley, head, motor adjustment lever, motor position lock knob, and motor are labeled.
Figure 8.20. Single speed motor connected to drill press spindle through stepped pulleys for speed adjustment. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The pulleysof the drill press are utilized to transmit rotational movement from the motor to the spindle by way of vee belts. The belts can often be moved to different pulley steps in order to select spindle speeds. Some drill presses may use an adjustable pulley to select spindle speed ranges, while finer adjustments are made with a variable frequency drive.

Spindle

Looking up at the spindle nose from the table of the drill press. The quill, head, lower spindle bearing, spindle nose, and spindle taper are labeled.
Figure 8.21. Looking up at the spindle nose from the table of the drill press. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The spindleis located within the drill press head and holds the tooling by way of a Morse taper. The spindle rotates on bearings inside the quill and provides the rotational movement necessary to perform the machining operations. It is connected to the motor by a series of belts and pulleys.

Quill

A drill press quill being extended from the head by rotating the hand lever. The head, quill graduated collar, quill, spindle, column, quill handle, and table are labeled.
Figure 8.22. A drill press quill being extended from the head by rotating the hand lever. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
A drill press quill being extended from the head by rotating the hand lever. The head, quill depth graduations, quill, quill handle, spindle and column are labeled.
Figure 8.23. A drill press quill being extended from the head by rotating the hand lever. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The quillis a cylindrical component that rides up and down in the head when the machine’s quill handle is pulled. The quill handle of the drill press is attached to a spur gear and meshes with a rack machined into the back of the quill. The spindle is located inside the quill and rotates on bearings.

Quill Stop

Screw type quill stop with locking nuts and numbered scale. The quill stop lock nut, quill stop, and quill graduations are labeled.
Figure 8.24. Screw type quill stop with locking nuts and numbered scale. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0
Quill handle style quill stop with graduated collar, pointer tags, and locking mechanism. The power feed stop station, quill graduated collar, power feed engagement stop, quill hard stop position, quill and power feed engagement handle, and quill stop adjustment locking lever are labeled.
Figure 8.25. Quill handle style quill stop with graduated collar, pointer tags, and locking mechanism. The main components are labeled. / Image Credit: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, CC BY 4.0

The quill stop is a device that allows the operator to limit the downward movement of the quill. By limiting the quill’s movement, the operator can accurately adjust and set the depth of features. This is especially handy for machining the same feature in multiple locations. Quill stops come in a few different styles. One uses a simple threaded rod with nuts that can be positioned to limit movement. Another type uses a more complex mechanism that is incorporated into the quill handle.

Author’s Tip

I prefer the threaded rod style because of its ease of use and the systematic way it can be adjusted. All I need to know is the pitch of the threaded rod and I can easily adjust the stop nuts in very fine increments by rotating them fractions of a turn. I often find the more complex mechanisms difficult to adjust in small increments, as they often just rely on rotating a graduated collar with respect to a pointing device. The graduated collar is often in course increments like 1/16″ and not very useful for precise depth cuts.

Attributions

  1. Figure 8.7: Variable speed drill press with parts labeled by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  2. Figure 8.8: Sensitive drill press with parts labeled by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  3. Figure 8.9: Drill press base by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  4. Figure 8.10: Drill press base 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  5. Figure 8.11: Drill press column by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  6. Figure 8.12: Drill press column 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  7. Figure 8.13: Drill press table by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  8. Figure 8.14: Drill press table 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  9. Figure 8.15: Drill press head by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  10. Figure 8.16: Drill press head 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  11. Figure 8.17: Variable speed drill press motor by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  12. Figure 8.18: Single speed drill press motor by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  13. Figure 8.19: Pulleys by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  14. Figure 8.20: Pulleys 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  15. Figure 8.21: Spindle inside quill by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  16. Video 8.1: Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  17. Figure 8.22: Quill by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  18. Figure 8.23: Quill 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  19. Figure 8.24: Quill stop by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
  20. Figure 8.25: Quill stop 2 by Micky R. Jennings, courtesy of Wenatchee Valley College, for WA Open ProfTech, © SBCTC, CC BY 4.0
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Introduction to Machining Copyright © by SBCTC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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