Multiple holes on Aluminium Posts?

You've given way too little info for useful help.

What's the final application?

What kind of tools and machines do you have?

How much money are you willing to spend?

How many posts do you have to produce per batch, per year?

Anything else you can think of.

Regards,

Robin

Final application is to mount two brackets on either side so accuracy is vital

Currently no tools nor machines - costs is not a problem, it's a expansion job for our company so we are currently looking into ideas to this problem

Make patterns of clear mylar and get a couple of good people to mak the parts and drill the holes.

You dont say the size of the part- which will determine machine size as well- you need a machine that will travel the distance between the two farthest holes on one side.

I would guess it would be worth manually turning the part, rather than going for a machine that will automatically do so, as that could add quite a bit to the cost- although again, it depends on the weight and size of the part-if its small enough, you could automate the whole thing for $35,000 to $50,000. But this could easily double or even triple if you get into large travels.

A Haas Minimill or VF-1 with 4th axis and a cnc rotary table or possibly even a cnc indexer from Haas would do the hole thing in one part loading- and while Haas machines are not recommended for really heavy milling, it seems like this would be a perfect application for one. Haas makes it easy to add a Haas indexer or rotary table. And Haas has pretty good sales and service in europe, as I understand it.

I'll assume it's not normally your job to either buy or run the machines that make your parts.

With that said, if you want a reasonable answer which is helpful and may solve your specific problem, you have to be as specific about your requirements as possible(!)

Important questions:

How long is the post/tube?

What is its diameter(s) or wall thickness?

Do the holes go through both walls of the post, or only one? Are they on center?

Does the post require any turning or axial drilling/boring? Do the ends need to be threaded or have any type of forming, deburring, truing, etc. performed? Does the OD or ID need any surface finishing (sanding, polishing, etc).

Are you making only one design of post with all holes always in the same location, or do you need to add/subtract/move holes for different versions of the final product?

Will your company ever produce a similar product, either simultaneously or after this post is out of production?

What are the diameter and location tolerances on the holes? Are the holes referenced from one datum, or from each other?

Does the bracket itself fit into the holes, or are the holes only for the fastener, or? How many holes does each bracket use?

Do the holes need to be deburred on the outside before the bracket is fitted? Deburred on the inside?

Depending on your answer, you may go with a drill jig and drill press, CNC lathe with cross drilling capacity, or a specialized machine, or...

Again, please be as specific as you can. Feel free to volunteer any information, no matter how trivial.

Regards,

Robin

The actual application is to fit traffic lighting brackets to Aluminium columns of which are cylindrical:

Lengths 3m - 6m and maybe 10m

Diameters range from 114 - 202mm

Wall thickness range from 3mm - 10mm

Holes are in center of different sizes and on both sides

I have a feeling a cnc lathe would do the job as we would need to do 2 different designs at the moment.

You'll probably have to look into a more specialized machine. The sizes you're dealing with are not condusive to such a broad solution as a CNC lathe. Are you making holes all the way along the post, or just at the ends? A CNC lathe which could actually hold your part would be wildly expensive and completely unnecessary.

Because your holes are all on center, you won't need what would be a "x" axis on a lathe ("y" axis on a mill). Indeed you really only need a C axis (rotation about the Z axis), and some type of "z" axis (lathe) to feed the post along. This is where your tolerances come into play. The accuracy your parts require will determine how you feed on the "z" axis. There are many machines that feed tubes/pipes for one reason or another (tube/pipe benders, for instance) which would be reasonably accurate and reasonably inexpensive.

The holes go through your part, so drilling depth doesn't have to be wildly accurate. Again, reasonably inexpensive.

You should ask about your problem on alt.machines.cnc. You might find someone who's done tube work in a high production situation. You should try and answer more of my questions. From what you've given us, we can assume certain things, but you need to be as specific as possible (tolerances, for example).

Regards,

Robin