Buying a deep hole drilling machine is not like ordering a spare part. There is no catalog to flip through, no “add to cart” button. Every machine we build is configured around a specific part, a specific material, and a specific production goal — and that means the process of buying one looks different from what most people expect.
This article walks through a typical project from the inside. It is written from the perspective of an overseas customer who came to us with a real drilling problem, and it shows, stage by stage, what actually happens between their first email and the day the machine runs in their factory. If you are considering working with us, it will also tell you exactly what to prepare on your end — because the faster we understand your part, the faster and more accurate our answer will be.
Stage 1: The First Inquiry
It usually starts with a phone call or an email, often with a single attachment: a drawing. In the project we are describing here, a mold and die maker sent us a 2D drawing of a mold insert, one line of text explaining the job, and a question:
“We need Ø8mm cooling channels, 600mm deep, in P20 steel. Can you do this — and what would it take?”
That one line contains more information than most people realize. Ø8mm × 600mm is a depth-to-diameter ratio of 75:1. For context, a conventional twist drill becomes unreliable at anything beyond roughly 5–10 diameters of depth. At 75:1, this is firmly deep hole drilling territory — the kind of job that only gun drilling or BTA drilling can handle reliably.
Within 24 hours, our sales team had acknowledged the inquiry and a project engineer was reading the drawing. This is the first thing worth knowing about us: you are not talking to a call center. The person who replies to you sits next to the engineers who will design the machine.
Stage 2: Feasibility Assessment
Before anyone mentions price, our engineers check whether the job is technically sound. This is where a lot of customers are surprised — because we sometimes tell them their job does not need the machine they thought it did. Or that it needs a different one.
For this mold insert, the assessment covered:
- Depth-to-diameter ratio — confirmed this was a gun drilling application, not twist drilling.
- Material — P20 pre-hardened mold steel, machinable but with hard spots that punish blunt tooling.
- Hole requirement — straightness, surface finish, and whether the channels needed to intersect precisely with other features.
- Part geometry — whether the insert could be held and drilled in one setup, or whether repositioning would be needed.
- Production volume — was this one-off tooling or repeat production? That changes the machine configuration significantly.
The verdict: this was a standard gun drilling job within the range of our RD1010 series machines, no custom engineering required. That honest answer saved the customer money — we did not push them toward a larger machine than they needed.
Stage 3: Proposal and Quotation
With feasibility confirmed, we produced a proposal covering:
- The recommended machine configuration — spindle, worktable, coolant system, and control.
- The process parameters we would run — expected speeds, feeds, and cycle time per hole.
- The tooling package — gun drills, guide bushings, and initial consumables.
- A delivery schedule and payment terms.
- What we would need from the customer to start production — and this is important: a sample workpiece.
We ask for a sample part on almost every order. It is the single most valuable document in the entire project. A drawing tells us what the part should be; a sample tells us what your material, your prior processes, and your tolerances actually look like. Cutting a real sample before the machine ships is how we guarantee the machine works on your part — not on a theoretical one.
Stage 4: Building, and the Run-Off Test
The build itself follows a strict sequence: machine bed and column, spindle and guide bushing assembly, high-pressure coolant system, control wiring, and finally the full integration. Every stage is documented, and the machine is inspected against a quality checklist that has been refined over hundreds of builds.
The critical milestone is the run-off test. The machine is fully assembled in our factory, your sample parts are mounted, and we drill the actual holes that your production will require. We measure straightness, diameter, surface finish, and cycle time — in front of our engineers and, whenever possible, with your representative present. If anything is off, it is fixed now, while the machine is still in our shop, not after it has been shipped across an ocean.
For this mold insert, the run-off produced Ø8mm channels at 600mm depth with straightness well inside tolerance, at a cycle time that beat the customer’s own estimate by about 20%. The machine was crated and shipped.
Stage 5: Installation and Training
When the machine arrives, our installation engineers travel to the customer’s facility. They handle:
- Unpacking, leveling, and alignment.
- Coolant and electrical hookup.
- A full functionality check.
- Training your team — typically one to two weeks, until your operators are running the machine independently. We do not leave until you are production-ready.
This hands-on period is worth more than any manual. During these two weeks we run through your real jobs, tune parameters for your actual materials, and answer the questions your operators will have every day. For this customer, their lead operator was running the machine solo by day six.
Stage 6: Life After Delivery
The machine has now been running in their factory for several months. The support continues:
- Spare parts stocked for fast shipping — gun drills are consumables, and we keep the common sizes ready.
- Remote diagnostics — a video call with our engineers can often resolve a parameter or tooling question the same day.
- 24/7 support for urgent production issues.
- Periodic check-ins — we follow up after installation, at one month, and again at six months to make sure the machine is holding its performance.
What This Means for You
If you are reading this because you are considering a deep hole drilling machine, here is what to prepare before you send your first inquiry. It will genuinely speed things up:
- A drawing or CAD model — even a rough one. We can work from a sketch.
- Material and hardness — the single most important input for tooling and parameters.
- Hole size, depth, and any tolerance requirements — especially straightness and surface finish.
- Annual or monthly volume — it determines the machine configuration.
- A sample part if possible — the gold standard for a fast, accurate quote.
- Current pain points — what problem are you trying to solve? Scrap? Cycle time? A part you currently can’t make at all?
The more you share, the better our answer. And if you don’t know some of these details, send what you have anyway — asking the right questions is part of our job. That is how every project starts.