Need some haelp on a tool I'm building

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I am making a tool to speed up the production of the chook pens for my business. It is hard to describe but I will give it a go with some pics of what is already built and the plans drew on google sketchup a 3D modelling system. If you would like to view the plans you can download the software free from google here and then the plans cannot be attached to the post but I will email them to people seperately (they really help). I have attached some screen shots of the plans anyway.I have sorted everything out except for the drive system for the drill bits. The 6 drills need to be run from a 3hp motor (as I already have this). They are in sets of two and have to be spaced very close together as they are drilling into 65x19mm decking. The two drills on the right and the two on the left stay still and the middle two move left and right and are set in a steel box. So if anybody can help me out it would be great.I need to turn the chucks like the ones in the pics (just better) but can't at the moment and I need to get this thing up and running soon. If anyone could machine me these it would be great of course I would pay they would need to be posted to me as I am not of the age where I ge to drive Attached Images
Reply:some more pics Attached Images
Reply:last but not least Attached Images
Reply:Having no Idea about what kind of budget you are looking at, and not a real clear idea of your final application I do have a couple of suggestions.A single 3hp motor is not a lot of power split 6 ways, if drilling simultaneously - if you are dead set on running it all off of 1 drive, then it might be a good idea to stage your drillsSomething else you can look into, and we run 6 synchronized drill heads this way, is hydraulics - check out AAA products "jiffy drills" - very low maint on high volume production runs.Regardless of how you power it or connect it you should keep in mind that if all turning units are rigidly joined in the feed mechanism i.e. all hard mounted on a single slide or something similar then you run the risk of one unit taking out the whole works.  For instance all six feed in together - 1 inch in #3 bit snaps you now 5 drills and one un-lubed rough bearing under increasing pressure.  something has to give somewhere.Thats assuming a powered feed.No real  help there probably, but a handful of what-ifs.
Reply:Sounds to me that you need something like a line boring machine. It's a tool cabinet makers use to drill shelf pin holes. You might be able to modify one, or maybe three, to do your job. It depends on the spacing of the holes, line boring machines only drill holes 32mm apart. http://www.grizzly.com/products/15-B...-Machine/G0642Also about the moving drills in the middle, what about just having drills for both positions? Is it undesirable to have an extra set of holes in each board? Is it more than just two positions you need? What size and depths are the holes?How far apart are the holes? What is the material?A description of the use of the finished part might help also.Last edited by fortyonethirty; 12-03-2010 at 11:26 AM.Ian TannerKawasaki KX450 and many other fine tools
Reply:I will reply properly tomorrow I just typed up a large (for my standards) response to questions raised then pressed back on my mouse!!!!!!!! Mean while I have attached images to this one.Thanks for your timeCody Attached Images
Reply:Ok now things make more sense. I saw a machine designed to build custom wood shutters quite a few years back that was similar. To do the paired holes the operator drilled one set by presing down on a treadle that slid the drills out into the wood, then the wood was slid forward say 1" and hit a cammed drop stop and the treadle was depressed again to drill the 2nd hole of the pair. The machine was made back in the 1890's roughly. A patent search might get you some usefull ideas. A Google images search brought up several vertical boring machines for shutters that might give you a few ideas..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:for that kind of  project,all you need is a long bar with drill bushings and an end locator.
Reply:how many do you build a day?  if more than 10  5 days a week I would say go ahead.  if not then you are wasting your money.For what you are doing I would look into getting a Dowelmax unit or something similar.Nice hutch/pen by the way.
Reply:My budget is about another $800 but I would prefer to keep that down to $400. Another alternative is to use 3 festool domino units in a line just like the drill bits though they are $1500 each so I would have to try to make 3. here is a video of one. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e71MitCy04A"]festool domino[/ame]I am not dead set on running it from 1 motor but I do have the 3hp one. I had thought that I could use 6 pneumatic drills (keeps noise down) like shown in image 1 of this post.I had thought about if one goes then... but the material I am going into is hardwood so it would be fairly difficult to break an 8mm drill bit going in about 20mm. Plus if I run each bit from one drill the bit wont directly affect other drill bits unless it catches on the wood and gets jammed.I will put in a quick shut off switch or 8 so they are easy to get to. Maybe making something that breaks before too much pressure is put on the rest of the jig to stop a bad accident happening.Also about the moving drills in the middle, what about just having drills for both positions?Unfortunately they interfer with each other (like one bit ends up in the middle of another bit)Is it undesirable to have an extra set of holes in each board? YesIs it more than just two positions you need?Yes I need 3 (can't redesign the pen to change this)What size and depths are the holes?The holes are 20mm deep and 8mm in diameterHow far apart are the holes? max 25mm centres this is why I have to make my own chucks.What is the material?Hardwood decking 65x19mmfor that kind of project,all you need is a long bar with drill bushings and an end locator.Whats this? an example would be great.how many do you build a day?Basically this is just a part time job for me as I am only 16 and still at school. I can make around $35-40/h with an ordinary dowel jig (not saying a dowel max is ordinary as it is a brilliant tool) infact I was considering getting one before someone described this thing to me. I make most of the pens on the weekend and in my holidays I can sell the pens easily as fast as I make them so the faster I make them the more $$ for me.I enjoy my business as I can justify and afford good tools (I love dispensible incomes! That is not saying I spend all or most of the money I think saving is a good thing to!), I can control the hours I work, I get to build things ectI see the building of this tool not only as a way of being able to make the pens faster but to also learn new skills and expand my knowledge, after all the best way to learn is to do.Thanks for the help and comments if I left anything out or don't make sense please tell me and I will try to explain better.Cody Attached Images
Reply:To me the side holes could be done easily and inexpensively with a feed table with fences and a cheap drill press. I wish I had picts of the setup we used to drill repetative hols thru the 1" steel pins we made to hold stair forms. Basically we had the drill press set up level on both sides with our work table and made a front and back fence so the material could only slide left and right. I made a stop set for the last hole and then flip down stops that engaged a previously drilled hole. Slide the material in till it hits the stop, run the drill press down till it hits the quil stop and release. Slide the material over till the flip down stop droped into the drilled hole and drill another. Lift the stop slide it past that stop till the 1st hole engaged the next stop and drill the next hole. and so on. A bit of design thought and you can make the stops keyed to a tredal or so on. I've seen comercial ones where the stops are spring loaded under the table and they engage the end of the board. The board slides over the rounded end of the stop till you get past it and it pops up, then you just slde it back till it hits the flat "stop" part and perform the operation.I frequently build site made jigs like this with stops for repetitive job operations like cutting stair dowels, stair treads, even 2x studs where I need a lot of same size parts over and over. Often I'll have several stops set up onthe same table at different ends so I can cut various parts quick. I'll use those little round hole shelf pegs as stops. Need an 84 -1/8" piece slide it to the end block and cut 10, put in a pin at 66-3/4" and cut 5, pull that stop pin and move it to 58- 3/8" and bang out 15 pieces.... Slide the next piece to the other side end stop, and I can reset the saw to 30 deg make the cut, flip the board, and cut the 30 deg on the oposite end with the same stop... I can have an idiot bang out acurate parts over and over. All he needs to know is what stop to use and how many pieces to cut.End holes would still be an issue.I'm guessing you use these holes for dowel pins. Perhaps biscuits might work better and faster? Or 1/2 laps cut with a dadoe on a radial arm saw? You could cut 10 or 12 pieces in one pass.Last edited by DSW; 12-05-2010 at 08:20 AM..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Cody, I worked in a cabinet factory during the 80's  and what you are looking for is a stile and rail doweling machine.  The one I ran was fully adjustable and had 8 bits turning at the same time.  You placed the stile or rail  against the stop, applied the foot pedal which locked it in and it plunged the bits into the material.  We were drilling MDF board and usually changed the bits daily just to keep maintenance happy.  Look around and see if industrial cabinet makers tools wont help give you some more ideas.  Good luckBobI'm spending my Kids inheritance, I dont like him that much anyway!!!!!!Enuff tools to do the job, enough sense to use em.Anybody got a spare set of kidneys?  Trade?
Reply:i dont see why you cant link all three sets up with some belts and pulleys  and make a jig to hold the wood with and slide into the bits with a t track and some clamps  http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21967  http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21273  if you couldn't get the twin bits to work you could probably get 3 going and just add a stop where you drill 3 slide over drill next 3 350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off