Due to its affordability and efficiency, gundrilling services for injection molding and compression molding manufacturers are exceptionally important when it comes to producing long and accurate holes or design features within platens. Venango Machine Company, a CNC machining and heated platen manufacturing specialist in Erie, PA, utilizes advanced gundrilling equipment to create long holes that adhere to extremely tight tolerances and also feature a smooth finish. Venango’s gundrilling services, tailored to supporting and advancing the injection and rubber compression molding industry, are as follows:
- Depth limit of 20′
- Diameters of .25″ to 2.36″
- Capable of drilling mild steel and most alloys
Our customers rely on our modernized gundrilling services and capabilities for all of their precision drilling needs. Contact Venango today to learn more about how our gundrilling services can benefit your molding operations and provide exceptional heating and cooling uniformity along the platen face.
Gundrilling Services vs. Deep Hole Drilling
Deep hole drilling refers to a specialized manufacturing process used to add holes to metal plates or other parts with a depth-to-diameter ratio greater than 10:1, and in many cases, a much higher ratio. Deep hole drilling is a required machining practice when the specified design requires holes that exceed this threshold, typically ranging from 10x to 150x the diameter. For instance, a 5 mm diameter hole drilled to a depth of 75 mm to 750 mm would fall into the category of deep hole drilling. These kinds of holes are common in industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, mold making, and automotive, where internal channels, fuel passages, or cooling bores are needed in long, solid components.
While falling underneath the broader banner of deep hole drilling, gundrilling services require specialized tools and high-pressure coolant to maintain accuracy, straightness, and surface finish along the entire length of the required hole. This manufacturing method is especially important to developing high-performance platens for injection molding, where precision cooling channels must be drilled deep into solid steel or other metal blocks. These channels help regulate the mold temperature during operation, improving cycle times and ensuring uniform part quality. Without the advanced gundrilling equipment at Venango Machine, creating these internal platen features with the required precision and efficiency would be nearly impossible.
Benefits of Gundrilling Services for Injection & Compression Molding
Gundrilling is often used in the production of tight-tolerance injection or compression molds, most commonly for drilling cooling lines or heater holes that deliver uniform performance along the face of the platen. Gundrilling can also be used in the die-making process. While the process has become synonymous with drilling where greater depth is required, it also finds use in shallower applications, since a gun-drilled hole requires less finishing than other drilling methods, it provides an exceptional balance of efficiency and cost to customers.
Gun drills are typically used to produce holes between 6 and 60 mm in diameter. The major benefit of gundrilling is that it is capable of achieving these depths without losing accuracy in diameter or straightness. Think about actual gun barrels, which require tremendous precision and accuracy along the barrel length to provide accurate and reliable firing. Gundrilling also naturally allows for high feed rates, which can reduce costs and lead times. For these reasons, gundrilling provides major benefits to those working within the molding industry.
Deep Hold Drilling & Gundrilling Services Near Erie, PA
Venango Machine Company is a Pennsylvania-based leader in gundrilling services for the injection molding industry and other compression molding businesses with over 50 years of experience. We encourage customers to take advantage of our 87” by 79” CNC 6-axis drilling and machining center, which can reach a drilling depth of 78.74” with a maximum diameter of 2.36”. In addition to these capabilities, Venango offers our customers tight tolerances on hole diameters, high-quality surface finish (depending on the material), and the ability to cut lengths of drilled stock into individual segments. The deep hole drilling and gundrilling services we offer arrive with Venango’s quality guarantee and promise of a quick turnaround.
To learn more about Venago’s advanced deep hole drilling and gundrilling services, contact us today.
