Heavy-Duty Horizontal Deep Hole Drilling for Large Energy Components

Customer Background

The customer is an energy equipment manufacturer producing large components for power generation and industrial systems — turbine housings, valve bodies, and heavy structural parts. These components are massive, often weighing several tons, and require deep, accurately positioned holes for fluid passages, cooling, and fastening.

The Challenge

Drilling large energy equipment components is dominated by workpiece size and weight, not hole complexity:

Very heavy workpieces. Components commonly weigh 5–18 tons. Positioning and clamping such workpieces for accurate drilling is the central challenge — a flexible table must hold them rigidly while the spindle locates precisely.

Large work envelope. Long valve bodies and housings require drilling across a wide range of positions. The machine must cover extended X/Y travel while maintaining accuracy across the whole table.

Deep holes in thick sections. Wall sections in pressure-bearing components can exceed 1,000mm. Drilling Ø3–50mm holes through these sections requires deep-hole techniques — gun drilling for small diameters, with stability over long tool overhangs.

Rigidity under load. A 15-ton workpiece absorbs machine rigidity. If the table or column deflects under the load, hole position and straightness drift — especially toward the far end of the table.

Mixed production. The shop runs a mix of small and large jobs on the same line. The drilling machine must handle both a large mold plate and a compact valve body without excessive changeover.

The Solution

RuidCNC supplied a Horizontal Deep Hole Drilling Machine configured for heavy industrial production:

• 18-ton load capacity — reinforced worktable and column hold the largest energy components rigidly during drilling
• Large worktable — 2700 × 1500mm table surface covers long valve bodies and housings in a single setup
• Ø3–50mm drilling range — versatile hole sizes from gun-drilled small passages to larger through-holes
• 1,600mm max drilling depth — reaches through thick pressure-bearing wall sections
• High-torque spindle — 157 N·m max output torque maintains consistent feed through tough castings and forged steel
• High-pressure coolant — 3–10 MPa through-tool coolant with 110 L/min flow clears chips from deep, long holes
• Wide-range servo drives — X-axis 28 N·m servo travels 2,500mm with precision for positioning along long components

Key Machine Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Drilling diameter range	Ø3 – Ø50 mm
Max drilling depth	1,600 mm
Worktable surface	2700 × 1500 mm
Max load capacity	18 tons
X-axis travel	2,500 mm
Spindle max speed	6,000 rpm
Spindle max output torque	157 N·m
Coolant pressure	3 – 10 MPa

Results

Metric	Previous Smaller Machine	Horizontal Heavy-Duty	Improvement
Max workpiece weight	8 tons	18 tons	2.25× capacity
Setups per large component	2–3	1	Eliminated
Positioning accuracy across table	±0.05 mm	±0.02 mm	60% better
Drilling depth per continuous pass	600 mm	1,600 mm	2.7× deeper
Cycle time per component	11 hours	6.5 hours	41% reduction
Downtime from table overload	2 days/month	None	Eliminated

Process Validation

The process was validated through:

• Full-table positioning accuracy verification using laser interferometry
• Hole straightness and position checks on a representative pressure vessel section
• Load-testing of the worktable at rated 18-ton capacity
• Dimensional inspection of first-article components against the drawing

Conclusion

The horizontal deep hole drilling machine extends RuidCNC’s capability to the heavy end of the market. With 18-ton load capacity, a 2,700 × 1,500mm table, and 1,600mm drilling depth, it enabled the customer to drill large energy components in a single setup where previously two to three machines were required. The combination of rigidity under load, deep-hole capability, and a large work envelope reduced per-component cycle time by 41%.

Figures are representative of typical applications.