If your team drills a handful of holes a week, powered feed may not change much. If an operator repeats the same hole through batches of parts, the way the drill feeds and retracts can have a much bigger effect on the working day. The same applies when drilled holes need to be tapped before the parts move to the next process.
What powered feed changes
Powered feed advances the spindle at a controlled rate rather than relying entirely on the operator to move it by hand. It can make repeated operations more consistent and reduce the amount of manual feeding required. That does not remove the need to select the correct tool, speed, feed setting, workholding and depth for the material.
Ask how many holes are drilled per part, how often the work repeats and whether operators regularly switch between hole sizes. A feature that saves little on one-off work may be valuable across a full shift. The controls should also be comfortable for the people who will use them.
Combining drilling and tapping
Tapping on the same machine can reduce the movement of parts between stations. Before specifying it, establish the thread sizes, hole depths and materials, then check the manufacturer’s tapping capacity and the controls for reversing and limiting depth. A drill’s maximum drilling diameter is not its tapping capacity.
The Meyer SR32AE geared-head drilling machine is one of Selmach’s options with powered feed and tapping functions. Our existing SR32AE drilling and tapping walkthrough shows the functions in operation. Use the machine manual and your workplace procedure when setting up any job.
When to keep the specification simpler
If your work is occasional, varied and rarely tapped, a simpler machine may cover the actual requirement without paying for functions that will sit idle. Compare that with the labour involved in the current process. Are holes made in one setup? Do operators spend much of the shift feeding repetitive cuts? Is a separate tapping stage creating delays?
Our pillar drill buyer’s guide covers the wider choice of capacity, throat depth, drive and workholding. If you can share a typical part and the expected quantities, Selmach can help assess whether power feed and tapping belong on your shortlist.
Published 30th September 2026