Mollart Acubore; Directional Deep-Hole Drilling

The Mollart Acubore project will develop a prototype deep-hole drilling machine for the purpose of producing holes of Ø5-65mm by length 3500mm. Deep-hole drilling in metal and ‘gundrilling’ technology are important to a number of industries; today, the production of many automotive engine parts, components for nuclear reactors and oil & gas exploration tools use technology manufactured by Mollart. The Acubore project aims to deliver a machine which surpasses current deep hole gundrill technology, based on the controlled steering of deep hole drilling tools.
Mollart is a British-owned and operated company with over 80 years’ experience in precision mechanical engineering. They operate a successful machine design division established since 1963, in which Mollart played a pivotal role in the development of the first gundrilling machines in the UK. The company also specialises in the subcontract machining of hard metals for use in oil & gas, energy production and telecommunications industries; the prototype machine will fulfil a long-standing requirement of the deep hole drilling process - to produce increasingly high aspect-ratio holes to increasingly tight tolerances.
Mollart will utilise their UK-leader status to design and implement the technology. Through collaborative research with a leading machine tool design university and experienced industrial partners, the project will deliver the most advanced technology ever seen in the deep hole drilling market. Mollart will be the only manufacturer in the world to have achieved this technical ability, providing them with a strong competitive advantage resulting in increased exports of subcontract services to market and increased machine tool sales. With strong competition from German companies, the Acubore project will provide Mollart with a unique selling point over European & North American rivals; the future growth of Mollart is dependent on developing this advanced technology.