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Punching Hole in Square Tubing
- Thread starter gkopp88
- Start date
- Replies 14
- Views 7,727
Arc-On
Aluminum
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2011
- Location
- Holland, MI
Need more info. Size of tubing, material, wall thickness, size of hole, one or both walls, how far in from the end, etc.
Answer will vary greatly.
Answer will vary greatly.
we use to routinely punched 5mm hole in 5/8" square 16G ERW, through one side only, square was undistorted, but there was a natural divot around hole extending out say 1/4" ish but probable only 1-2mm deep tops , but not as bad as you would expect. Helped to grind the end of the punch into a shape that was not a std square too, i use to prefer a shape similar to what you get when you fish-mouth tubing for a 90 degree tee shaped weld joint. This was for a automotive application and upholstery springs went in the holes so it really did not matter much.
2x2x.125. 5/8 holes. 2 are just an inch or so from the end but the other 2 are about 17 inches from the end. They need to go all the way through both sides but I’m not sure if that’s possible. We production lots of these and use the drill press but then we have to clean up the hole of any burrs. Just trying to eliminate a step and speed it up!
Ries
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2004
- Location
- Edison Washington USA
Scotchman makes a dieset for their ironworkers to do this- this would probably be the cheapest way to get punching capability. Its probably semi-custom, which means a couple grand and built to order, but its a lot cheaper than the dedicated machines.
Scotchman Square Tube Punch - YouTube
Scotchman Square Tube Punch - YouTube
Peter from Holland
Diamond
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
- Location
- The Netherlands
I did some work for a shop that did this in round tube about 60mm Holes were not that big 12 mm I think
Through both walls in one stroke on a exentric press A floting die inside the tube Up to 3mtr deep was possible You would think the slug from the first hole was in the way
But no it went straight through I don`t think it will work on a hydraulic press To slow I presume
Peter
Through both walls in one stroke on a exentric press A floting die inside the tube Up to 3mtr deep was possible You would think the slug from the first hole was in the way
But no it went straight through I don`t think it will work on a hydraulic press To slow I presume
Peter
cyanidekid
Titanium
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2016
- Location
- Brooklyn NYC
What volume are you producing? If it’s less than say, 20-40 a day, you might want to consider an annular cutter like a Jancy slugger bit if you have a mill, pretty dam quick, and clean cut, just 2seconds with a Noga deburring tool and good to go. If you don’t have a mill, you could make a dedicated jig with a mag base drill.
cleaner and less distortion than a sheared hole, too.
What are you using now, and what machines do you have?
Quality of hole/speed/cost of equipment it’s a balance.
cleaner and less distortion than a sheared hole, too.
What are you using now, and what machines do you have?
Quality of hole/speed/cost of equipment it’s a balance.
Ries
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2004
- Location
- Edison Washington USA
watch the scotchman video- it shows repeatablely located holes in one or both sides of square tube, with minimal distortion, and once its set up, its pretty much a no-brainer for the employee.
They would have to make you a die with stops at your locations.
Of course, you could build a similar die for any ironworker, or, most likely, adapt the scotchman to fit any machine either.
If this quality of hole (punched with an ironworker) is good enough, I think this is going to be the most foolproof, cost effective way to do it for mid range quantities- ie between 20 and 200 a day. If you need 1000 an hour, there are machines built to do just this, but they are gonna be in the 30k to 100k range, most likely.
The chinese would be happy to sell you one of these, for example.
automatic NC square tube punching machine, square hole punching machine - YouTube
American made, expect to spend quite a bit more, but it will crank em out.
Tube Punching, Tube Piercing, and Tube Notching Machines and Equipment
They would have to make you a die with stops at your locations.
Of course, you could build a similar die for any ironworker, or, most likely, adapt the scotchman to fit any machine either.
If this quality of hole (punched with an ironworker) is good enough, I think this is going to be the most foolproof, cost effective way to do it for mid range quantities- ie between 20 and 200 a day. If you need 1000 an hour, there are machines built to do just this, but they are gonna be in the 30k to 100k range, most likely.
The chinese would be happy to sell you one of these, for example.
automatic NC square tube punching machine, square hole punching machine - YouTube
American made, expect to spend quite a bit more, but it will crank em out.
Tube Punching, Tube Piercing, and Tube Notching Machines and Equipment
metalpyro
Aluminum
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2017
- Location
- Sacramento
I have a similar job, (2) 9/16" thru holes, 1-3/4" x .095 square tube. I use a 2" DOC Hougen rotobroach.
Previously, I used the Hougen sheetmetal cutter. The arbor is long enough to go thru both sides of a bigger tube like the OP needs. I slide a 1-1/2" square tube inside the 1-3/4" tube with no clean up required.
RotaCut Sheet Metal Hole Cutters
While I think Ries has the best solution.....If the hole size changes,
it might prove too costly.
You could set up opposing drill heads (air actuated) so the operator
simply puts the part in, and starts the cycle.
So you would have a slower cycle time than the punch, but more flexibility.
The double headed drill would offer 2x the speed of the present method.
More than one way to skin this cat.
it might prove too costly.
You could set up opposing drill heads (air actuated) so the operator
simply puts the part in, and starts the cycle.
So you would have a slower cycle time than the punch, but more flexibility.
The double headed drill would offer 2x the speed of the present method.
More than one way to skin this cat.
Walter A
Titanium
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2007
- Location
- Hampton, Virginia
Any internal mandrel has to take the internal weld seam into account as you can see that Scotchman did. This is a really well thought out punching fixture but probably pretty costly if used for only one job. However, the design does not seem too hard to replicate if not exactly, at least well enough to get the job done.
Walter
Ries
Diamond
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2004
- Location
- Edison Washington USA
guess it depends on your definition of "production lots".
