An Introduction to Self Feed
Units
A Versatile Unit to Meet a Wide Range of Needs
Airmachines' Self Feed Unit combines a motor with a
double acting, self lubricating cylinder into a clean line package. The
motor can be powered by air or electricity. With the control system
and a variety of attachments, the unit can be used for drilling, tapping,
screwdriving and nutrunning in many automated operations.
Single or Double Feed to the Motor and
Cylinder*
Incorporated into the design of the tool, this feature
enables both the motor and the cylinder to be fed with air through one
connection or separately through two connections which can have different
air pressures - an advantage when drilling or tapping small holes.
*Applies to pneumatic units only.
Adjustable Stroke Length
The unit can be set for any stroke from 5/16" (8mm) to 3" (75mm) to
provide for deep hole drilling applications, while providing a greater
clearance for fixtures and indexing tables, among other things. The
stroke is adjusted by means of an adjustment screw. An indicator on the
upper guard makes set up quick and easy.
Double Acting Air Cylinder to Maintain Set Thrust
The main advantage delivered by this method of applying thrust is that the
set thrust can be maintained throughout the full 3" (75mm) stroke. This
provides greatly improved cycle times as the drill bit will cut more
quickly without burring. It will also enable the feed rate to be
accurately controlled, thus prolonging small drill life and preventing tap
breakage. The control head incorporates valves that control the rate of
feed and retraction of the cylinder, as well as porting for dwell control.
For manual control, start and stop push buttons are provided, while for
partial or fully automatic control, check valves are supplied.
Cycle Signals
The cycle completion signal can be obtained as a negative
signal from the connection on the back of the feed tube. The pressure is
removed when the unit has fully retracted. The cycle signal port on the
feed tube provides a positive signal as soon as the unit moves forward.
Flexible Mounting Options
The different mounting brackets make it possible to permanently mount the
unit into a dedicated machine for long run production. Alternatively it
can be quickly and easily changed for various set ups for short run
production.
Generously Outfitted with Many Attachments
and Accessories Standard
The self feed units come with many attachments as standard features.
These include a drill chuck up to 3/8" (10mm) capacity, 3/8" or 1/2"
square drives for nutrunners, a ball clutch for screwdrivers, and a
collets for tappers. Both single and multiple spindle tapping heads along
with multiple spindle drill heads are available. The units also include a
number of standard accessories, such as isolation fittings for remote
advance and retract, upper guard with depth indicator, chuck key with
drill unit, and collet wrenches with tapping unit.
Optional Accessories for Special Needs
In addition to the standard accessories, you can take advantage of a
number of optional accessories for self feed units. These
include several
kits -- hydraulic feed control, peck feed control, bottom
limit sensing, dwell
control and return limit sensing. Other optional accessories
are an exhaust
collector, bushing mount nose housing, swarf exclusion kit,
skip control units
and mounting brackets and clamps. A positive signal valve
that mounts on
the guard can also be supplied. It will give a positive
signal when the unit is
fully retracted and can still be used when a hydraulic
breakthrough unit is
fitted to the drill. Air flow restrictors of 10 cfm and 15
cfm (5 l/s and 7 l/s )
can also be supplied as optional extras if the application
involved does not
require the utilization of the full motor power. This means
a savings in
compressed air consumption.
