Automated Canister Drilling and Tapping System
Automated Canister Drilling and Tapping System

The Challenge

An aerospace manufacturer required the precise drilling and tapping of 176, 10-32 holes in a multi component assembly. Their current method of manufacturing was to fixture the components and use a combination of a CNC mill and special drill presses. Production time was 80 minutes per assembly. The production requirements required them to produce 1 assembly every 10 minutes.

The Solution

Creative Automation designed and fabricated a custom 26 spindle drilling and tapping system. The system was built using a granite plate as a base and precision weldments for mounting the spindles. A shuttle carriage moved the part and fixture left to right, while a rotary indexer performed the 4 positions of rotation alignment. The last 4 spindles on the left are set to 5° and 10° angles to accommodate hole locations on the front end of the assembly. Production time was reduced to under 10 minutes per assembly.