Design and evaluation of a feed handle for a bench drilling machine

BACKGROUND: Despite extensive industrial use, no major modifications to the bench drilling machine, with respect to ease of operation, have been undertaken. OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the study were to design a new feed handle (NFH) to perform the drilling task on a bench drilling machine and evaluate the existing (EFH) and new feed handles on the basis of performance measures like drilling productivity in terms of metal removal rate (MRR) and worker performance in terms of perceived discomfort score (PDS). METHODS: Participants performed the drilling task on a steel block for three different working durations at two drilling speeds. RESULTS: ANOVA analysis carried out for the MRR data showed that drilling speed had a statistically significant effect on the task performance of the operator for both handles. However, the task duration was found to be statistically significant only for the EFH. The ANOVA results obtained on the PDS data showed that the task duration and drilling speed had a statistically significant effect on the task performance of the operator for both systems. CONCLUSIONS: The MRR obtained was higher when the drilling task was carried out using NFH. An appreciable decrease in PDS was also observed using the proposed system.