Intersecting-Holes

Hydraulic manifolds are blocks of steel or aluminum that contain networks of drilled passages. The passages direct hydraulic fluid from one port to another. The holes need to intersect precisely inside the block. I have drilled manifolds for mobile and industrial hydraulic systems for years, and the work is similar to valve body drilling but with larger passages and looser tolerances. The challenge is not the individual hole — it is making sure every hole meets its cross-hole at the right depth and with a clean intersection. ...

Hot runner manifolds are one of those jobs where the drilling itself is not the hard part. The hard part is making sure the holes meet where they are supposed to meet, and that the intersections are clean enough for plastic to flow through without hanging up. I have done my share of manifold drilling. If you are new to mold drilling in general, the injection mold components article covers the basics. This one is specifically about manifold channels and the techniques I use for deep hole drilling of hot runner manifolds. ...