DeHoff 518 Cell Gundrilling Machine

The DeHoff 518 Cell is a gundrilling machine for high-volume production of scroll compressor drive shafts. The shaft requires a different diameter hole to be drilled in each end for lubrication of the scroll bearing.

The DeHoff 518 Cell is comprised of nine gundrilling spindles used to drill the opposing holes. The larger-diameter, shorter hole is produced first using three gundrilling spindles on a single machine base. The smaller-diameter, deeper hole is produced next using six gundrilling spindles (two separate machine bases with three spindles each). More spindles are dedicated to the deeper hole because of its longer cycle time, which results in a balanced throughput for each gundrilling operation.

The 518 Cell has a 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) gundrilling capacity and an 18-inch (457 mm) slide travel. The machine features a cast iron drill head base with hardened and ground steel box ways, plus hand-scraped and fitted saddle, gibs and straps (versus linear guide ways and milled surfaces). This results in enhanced vibration damping, extended tool life and improved accuracy and surface finish.