Gundrilling is a specialised art, so there can be a lot of confusion about basic variables such as time, cost, and quality. This can create a headache for buyers, especially as clients – who arrive from a variety of demanding sectors, such as aerospace, defence, and automotive – need to know that the finished product will meet their specifications with absolute precision. Let’s take a look at gundrilling timings.
How Long Does Specification Take?
The design and specification phase is absolutely crucial to successful gundrilling. This is where a little time investment should be allocated, as checking all of the finer detail on technical drawings makes all the difference to a successful outcome. The crucial determining factors are the bore and concentricity tolerances, as these affect the requirements for additional honing or turning and, therefore, the lead time.
A good manufacturer will need to review and invest a little time into this part of the process. Some orders are very easy to calculate; others may be more complex. As such, the specification can be highly variable! On average, expect around an hour or so depending on the complexity.
How Long Does The Process Take?
High quality gundrilling is all about technique. There are four crucial variables that need to be calculated and controlled. Flow rate, pressure, speed and feed rate all must be harmonised. The calculations depend upon the material as well as the diameter of the bore. Other variables also need to be factored, which include preparing for material property variables or other machining issues. The size of the order will also make a significant difference.
As such, the length of the manufacturing process can be quite varied. An average feed rate is around 10-20mm per minute, but the real key is how smoothly the workshop operation is managed. Experienced engineers, well-maintained machines and accurate scheduling are the foundations that underpin the manufacturing timetabling. A more experienced company will – inevitably – be faster than one that is still finding its feet.
How Long Does Delivery Take?
Delivery depends upon the size of the order, and the locality of the company. A local manufacturer will be able to turn around a gundrilling order promptly and will have it with the client within a very short time frame. Using an overseas supplier adds considerable time into the process, not least because this doubles exponentially if returns are required. Customs can be wearisome for bespoke machined parts, and the shipping can take several weeks, so overseas order scheduling can be very unpredictable. Local is always swifter and easier to calculate and has high levels of reliability.
Here at Hone All, we usually dispatch orders within a week when they are for the gundrilling process only (depending on batch size) and use reputable and reliable couriers or our own transport.
Should bore tolerance or concentricity requirements be below the industry standard of ±0,1mm, then a honing or turning operation will be added which can potentially add a few more days to the lead time but inevitably ensures the overall quality of the part prior to the finish machining operations or treatment.
So, Overall?
The duration of a precision gundrilling order tends to be anywhere between one and two weeks depending on the variables listed. Therefore, the best way to understand how long it normally takes to fulfil a particular order is by asking.
Should your requirement be more urgent that this, then simply give us a call and see if we can create a little extra capacity for you as we are always willing to respond to exactly what you need, and more importantly, when you need it!
Get in touch with us today by calling 01525 370666 or visiting www.hone-all.co.uk.
