On a recent project for Mid-State Engineering, Suhner custom ECONOmaster drill units were used to automatically drill holes into fiberglass panels for a truck trailer body. The range of hole sizes are half an inch. ECONOmaster is used to reduce the center to center point of the holes drilled by a quill-feed drill.
This quill-feed drill unit has selectable drill heads that can be used at once or individually. Using servo drive motors, the machine auto indexes down a table to ensure precision hole locations across a 60-foot span.
“The machine helps give our transportation customers a competitive advantage, increasing production volume while reducing rework at the same time,” Tom Raver, engineering manager at in Tipton, IN-based Mid-State Engineering, said.
The ECONOmaster line of drilling units is ideal for materials such as:
- light metal
- wood, composite
- plastic; and
- foam.
This drilling unit features low power and air consumption, adjustable motor housing, adjustable total stroke up to 4 in., hydraulic feed control cylinder, J33 taper spindle end, 0-1/2-in. drill chuck, electric front and rear position limit switches, belt tensioner and chrome-plated quill. Basic unit weight is 45 lbs.
Other key features include adjustable feed stroke of ½-3 in., 400 lb. thrust at 85 psi, operating pressures to 110 psi, TEFC/IP56 protection, standard 230V/460V, concentricity of .002-in. TIR, speed ranges to 9600 RPM and an air connection retract/advance of ¼ in.-20 NPT.
Founded in 2008, Mid-State Engineering features an in-house electrical and mechanical engineering staff with over 100 years of manufacturing engineering experience. This vast experience is used to design and build unique systems tailored to customer applications. In addition, the in-house mechanical and engineering staff also provide in-house fabrication. This makes Mid-State Engineering a one-stop shop for companies looking to enhance their processes or implement new ones.
Mike Ricketts, regional sales manager for the machining division at Suhner felt that this collaboration was a perfect match for both companies. It allowed Suhner to offer a wide variety of products with an innovative partner that can offer superb turnkey solutions to meet customer needs.
“The team at MSE is very easy to work with as they are able to help fill and prioritize the customer’s wants and needs with their ‘out-of-the-box’ approach to each project,” Ricketts said. “It is refreshing to partner with a company that can do almost anything from small, intricate assembly cells all the way up to large industrial automated robotic assembly lines.”
MSE’s Raver was also pleased with the partnership.
“Mid-State Engineering is appreciative of the partnership with Suhner to provide a quality long-lasting equipment/drill heads to our customers,” Raver said.