Large and heavy parts like steam engine cylinders and engine frames are impossible to rotate in a drill machine or engine lathe. This is where horizontal boring mills come in to provide a solution and make it possible to machine those huge metal parts. They can also do different tasks including turning, reaming, facing, milling, and threading using various tools.
But how exactly does a horizontal boring machine perform its job? It is because of how its various parts work together. Here are the six major parts of this boring mill and their functions.
Bed: it is the major part that supports the tables, columns, and other components of the boring machine. It is fitted on the floor of the machine shop that features a box-like casting.
Headstock: it is the part that drives and feeds the tool to the horizontal boring mills. It moves up and down on the column, depending on the height of the workpiece. It is where the spindle is attached that gives the tool its rotation movement.
Headstock supporting column: it has hollow houses that are strongly ribbed for more rigidity. Some of the columns are fixed in place while others can be attached to slide along the bed. Regardless of their structure, they are the ones that provide support to the headstock while guiding it as it moves.
End supporting column: this part is found on the other end of the bed houses that provide supports to the long boring bar. It can be adjusted on the sideways to move away or towards the spindle to support the varying length of boring bars.
Saddle and table: these parts work together to hold different devices. It is the saddle that allows the workpiece to be moved longitudinally on the bed while the table can be moved crosswise along the saddle. The movement can be adjusted to move slower or faster, depending on the workpiece at hand.
Boring bar: this is the part that supports the cutter to hold operations on the work with large bore diameters. For a longer workpiece, the boring bar is supported on the spindle end while shorter holes will be supported by the spindle end only.
Those parts work together to ensure that horizontal boring mills perform their job well.
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