It was over 37,000 years ago when Home Sapiens realized what are the benefits of rotary tools. It was a sharp rock that, when rotated with hands, would drill a hole into another material. Around 10,000 years ago, people used bow drills as the first machine drills which were used in woodwork and stonework, but also in dentistry and to make fire.

During 221 BC, Qin Dynasty in China invented churn drills, which were used to drill large-diameter holes, in 1885, Isaac Singer built a steam-powered churn drill, based on the method that the Chinese used, and the greatest advancement in the drilling world was the invention of the electric drill. 

Every homeowner needs drilling tools and machines at some point. Let’s say that you plan to construct your dream house and to do massive construction like for a water source, you may need horizontal directional drilling contractors. Or if you are struggling with tight spaces, you can always check with directional boring contractors for a professional idea.

In this blog, let’s tackle the different types of drilling machines you need to know when you are planning to put up your own house:

1. Portable Drilling Machine

A portable drilling machine is a small, 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 wood, plastics, metal, and concrete. Portable drill machines are used by woodworkers, house owners, plumbers, electricians, and industrial workers because of their small size. 

2. Bench Drilling Machine

This drilling machine is used for making holes in wood and metals. You can also perform various cutting operations such as boring, reaming, and tapping. This drilling machine is capable of drilling holes up to 12.5 mm in diameter in steel. It is widely used by woodworkers and manufacturing industries. This is also called a sensitive drilling machine due to the ability that this machine provides.

3. Pillar Drilling Machine

This is also known as the upright drilling machine. It 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 directional boring contractors and manufacturing industries.

4. Radial Drilling Machine

On this machine, 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 in diameter in large, heavy workpieces.

5. 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. These are mainly used for drilling holes in a workpiece successively.

6. Multi-spindle Drilling Machines

These machines are for special purposes where 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. Its main purpose is to increase productivity and reduce operation time.

7. 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. This machine is also used by horizontal directional drilling contractors.