Drilling into Steel

[erniehatt]

Hi, Guys, better let you know what I am usige first.
I have one of those Chinese 6040 machines, which I have made some alterations, those being a 12mm steel base, and 2.2kw spindle.
I am wanting to drill a number of holes into the steel base which I will thread these will hold down the spoilboard.
My questions are, is it possible ? if so, what is the best process to use ? I hope that covers it. Thanks.

[JohnHaine]

What is the slowest speed of your spindle? The obvious way would be to pop a drill in the chuck and off you go but in steel say a 5mm hole for an M6 hole would need a speed no more than 1000rpm I'd guess. As for tapping this would best be done by hand as I doubt the machine would do rigid tapping. If the min spindle speed is too high I think your best approach would be to pop the base on a drill press.

[rnr107]

I wouldn't try and drill steel with such machine...
If I were you, I would use the 6040 to spot all the holes (To give you the exact location)
using a solid carbide 60 degree spot drill bit. That should be within the capacity of the machine no problem...
Then finish the drilling on a pillar drill.

RNR