7 Different Types of Drilling Machines [with pictures]

In this post, I will break down the 7 major types of drilling machines, show you what they do well, and what they do not do so well.

After reading, you will have a solid idea about all types of drilling machines and their usage. And more importantly, this post will help you understand which drill machine is best for you and your needs.

Let's dive in.

Types of Drilling Machines

According to the structure and application, Drilling Machines can be classified into seven types:

1. Portable drilling machine
2. Bench drilling machine
3. Pillar drilling machine
4. Radial drilling machine
5. Gang drilling machine
6. Multi-spindle drilling machine
7. Deep hole drilling machine

Portable drilling machine

A portable drilling machine is a small-size, hand-operated power drill, mainly used for making small holes up to 12mm in an object in any position. It can drill a hole through woods, plastic, metal, and concrete. Due to their small size and mobility, portable drill machines are used by woodworkers, house owners, plumbers, electricians, and industrial workers.

Bench drilling machine

This is a bench-type drill machine used for making holes in wood and metals. You can also perform various cutting operations such as boring, reaming, and taping. This drilling machine is capable of drilling holes up to 12.5 mm diameter in steel. And, it is widely used by woodworkers and manufacturing industries.

It is also called a sensitive drilling machine, due to the ability which this machine provides. The ability to sense the progress of the drill with your hand during the drilling operation.

Pillar drilling machine

Also known as an upright drilling machine, a pillar drill machine is an advanced drill machine used for making 20mm to 40mm holes in metal and wood. It looks similar to a bench drill machine. But it has a more powerful motor and more drilling capacity compared to a bench drill machine.

This machine is primarily used by professional woodworkers and manufacturing industries. Pillar Drilling Machine is suitable for drilling, reaming, reaming, tapping screws, spot-facing machining, and batch production.

[Read More: The Pillar Drill Machine; Key Features and How They Work for You]

Radial drilling machine

This is a machine in which the drilling head is mounted to slide along a radial arm which can be rotated, raised, or lowered on a vertical pillar to adjust the position of the drill bit above the workpiece.

It is mostly used in manufacturing machine shops to make a hole up to 80mm diameter in large, heavy workpieces.

Gang drilling machine

A gang drill machine is a multi-column drilling machine in which numerous drill heads and columns are mounted on a single table.

It is mainly used for drilling holes in a workpiece successively. Various machining operations like drilling, reaming, counter drilling, tapping can be performed using this machine.

Multi-spindle drilling machines

This is a special-purpose machine tool in which the drill head consists of numerous spindles driven by a single motor. It is commonly used in manufacturing shops to drill multiple holes together at the same time.  

The main purpose of the multi-spindle drilling machine is to increase production and to reduce the operation time.

Deep hole drilling machine

This is a special breed of drilling machine mostly used to make deeper holes in various parts like spindles, barrels, connecting rods, and certain oil-well drilling equipment. 

Which type of drilling machine will you choose?

Now that you know your options for the best drilling machines, there’s only one question left to answer: Which type of drilling machine is right for you? 

Pick the machine that best matches your needs and go drill something big or small.

Happy Drilling!