BX Series Radial Drill

Overview

BX Series radial drills feature a box-form arm with heavy crossed ribs and a closed-box base plate heavily reinforced by numerous ribs. The coolant tank and electric pump are mounted in the base at the foot of the column. The column has a heavy cross rib running the full length, is precision ground, and is mounted in large roller and ball bearings in a heavy foot casting securely fixed to the base; base, arm and column are normalized before machining. All castings are 200-220 HB hardness and heavily ribbed for strength and reduced vibration. The Raptor head assembly rolls on two heavy duty ball bearings and is locked rigidly by a single lever, with head movement adjustable and bearings running on a special hardened steel strip that is replaceable. All electrical operating controls and switches are 24 volts; a single lever operates start-stop and reverse action of the double clutch, and built-in limit switches insure stopping at top and bottom limits. The hardened and ground forged steel spindle is supported at both ends, with the lower end mounted in a large roller bearing and a single row thrust bearing; bearings are adjustable. The oversize spindle and quill assembly is suitable for sensitive I drilling work and boring operations and is supported by a counter-weight providing equal sliding ease for the full length of spindle travel. Power feed rates are selected by a hand wheel while the drill is working; power feed is engaged by pulling feed handles out and disengaged by knocking feed handles in or when a predetermined depth setting is reached, with the feed clutch using internal fine teeth. The double action clutch uses two series of hardened steel discs to effect double coupling and reverse directions of spindle rotation, and reverse spindle speed is approx. 40% faster than tapping speed. For 4"-13" and 5"-13" models the arm is high strength annealed cast iron with a cross ribbed box design, the bearing way for head travel is protected by a replaceable wear strip, and the arm can turn 360 degrees around the column. All gearing in the head is continuous and lubricated by a reversible gear pump, and the reduction gear driving the arm raising screw runs in an oil bath. The double wall column design fixes the internal column to the base while the external column rotates on large roller bearings, and a new locking design provides repeat clamping accuracy; the arm raises and lowers without disturbing alignment and locks hydraulically when the electric switch is turned off. Spindle speed and feed gear chain components are nickel-chrome steel, hardened and ground, with shafts mounted in ball or taper roller bearings. Spindle and quill are nickel chrome-molybdenum steel, hardened and ground; the bottom of the spindle is mounted in a class 5 double row roller bearing and thrust bearing protected by a grease seal, and spindle bearings are adjustable by a locknut at the top. Additional protections include an arm raising safety device to prevent arm fall in case of excessive wear, a bronze feed worm gear and power feed safety clutch as a feed overload protector, and a double disc friction clutch with adjustable slip point for instant mechanical reverse. Hydraulic clamping is available as an option for WB-40/1000 and WB-40/1250 and is also specified for the 4"-13" and 5"-13" section, using oil powered pistons activated by push buttons on the face of the head. HydrobLoc controls provide clamping-unclamping functions in lever positions (A), (B) and (C) allowing coordinated clamping of arm and head and permitting raising or lowering of the arm without altering spindle alignment. Electric control panel functions include a four-position switch for arm raise/lower and spindle direction, a power feed engage-disengage lever, coolant pump switch, electromagnetic spindle brake on-off switch, emergency stop button, and a power on switch with magnetic starter and no volt protection. Optional box tables available: RD-A 20" x 16" x 14"H box table w/side clamping and ground surfaces; RD-B 26" x 20" x 16"H box table w/side clamping and ground surfaces; WB-C 26" x 18" x 17"H box table w/side clamping and planed surfaces; WB-D 30" x 22" x 17"H box table w/side clamping and planed surfaces; WB-650 26" x 18" x 17"H tilting box table w/side clamping and planed surfaces; WB-750 30" x 22" x 22"H tilting box table w/side clamping and planed surfaces. The documentation explicitly describes the machine as suitable for sensitive I drilling work and boring operations. The double action clutch description states the spindle arrangement is ideally suited for tapping operations because reverse spindle speed is approx. 40% faster than tapping speed. The double disc friction clutch is described as ideal for production tapping and permits instant mechanical reverse with adjustable slip point.