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LINCOLN, NEBRASKA ? In the world of large-scale structural steel fabrication, the logistical challenge of moving massive workpieces to a stationary machining center often dictates the pace of production.
Precision in the Field: Hearn Machine Tool and NUM Revolutionize Portable Beam Drilling for the Steel Fabrication Industry
Teufen, 08.09.2026 (PresseBox) - The Challenge: Mobile Precision in Rough Environments
Hearn Machine Tool, a multi-generational family business based in Lincoln, Nebraska, has earned a reputation as the industry?s ?problem solver.? Their flagship portable drills, the SDT7 and the high-powered SDT8, are designed to perform ?Big Hole? drilling ? up to 2 5/8 inches (6,66cm) in diameter ? directly on-site. Unlike standard workshop magnetic drills, Hearn systems are essentially mobile CNC centers, often mounted on adjustable rail frames reaching up to 12 feet (3,6m) in length.
The complexity of field drilling involves more than just raw power. Steel beams are rarely perfectly aligned with a portable machine?s frame. Traditionally, aligning a portable drill to a specific hole pattern required painstaking manual setup and constant operator intervention. To overcome this, Hearn required a control system that offered more than just motion; they needed a platform capable of dynamic adaptation and sophisticated file handling.
The Solution: A Powerful Partnership with NUM
Hearn found their ideal partner in NUM, a global leader in high-performance CNC solutions known for their ?open? architecture and technical agility. The collaboration between NUM?s control engineering staff and Hearn?s mechanical experts resulted in a bespoke implementation of the NUM Flexium+ 6 CNC system. ?The combination of NUM?s advanced system functionality and staff technical expertise with Hearn?s track record of rugged drilling capabilities have come together to deliver a game changing level of efficiency improvement for highly technical steel drilling for field operations? noted Chuck Sidles of Hearn.
The hardware suite selected for the Hearn SDT8 is a testament to modern industrial engineering. The machine is built around the Flexium+ 6 platform configured in Type M milling mode. This combination goes beyond basic drilling operations and provides dynamic 3D simulation and programming flexibility needed for complex structural work.
Advanced Interface and Intelligent Automation
The true ?brain? of the new Hearn system lies in the software integration. The machine utilizes a high-performance P2 G4 Box PC running Windows IoT Enterprise LTSC, providing a rugged and stable environment for the operator interface. By leveraging the NUM?s Flexium+ software suite, Hearn has introduced several features that drastically reduce setup time and improve production efficiency:
Dynamic Beam Alignment: One of the most significant benefits of the NUM system is the automatic compensation feature. After an operator ?teaches? the machine a few reference points on the beam, the CNC dynamically aligns the internal coordinate system to the physical beam using NUM?s inclined plane feature.This ensures that even if the portable frame is mounted at a slight angle in any plane, the holes are drilled with mathematical precision.
Direct CAD Integration: Efficiency is further enhanced by the ability to import DWG/DXF files directly into the programming interface. Operators no longer need to manually enter coordinates; they can simply load the engineering drawings, and the NUM control identifies the hole locations instantly, and can produce the most efficient motion sequence path to perform the drilling operation.
Graphical ?Skip Hole? Selection: In steel fabrication, drift pins and existing hardware often obstruct the path. The NUM interface allows operators to graphically select and ?skip? specific holes, or ?go around? holes that might have an obstruction in the way, guiding the machine safely around obstacles without rewriting the program. The programming interface also displays the current machine position so there is no guess-work to understand what the motion sequence is doing.
Resumable Interruption: Given the scale of these projects, power interruptions or tool changes are inevitable. The NUM system allows the SDT8 to detect an interrupted program and also resume a program exactly where it left off, maintaining the integrity of the workpiece and saving hours of recalibration.
Dynamic Operating Limits: The machine can intelligently set the minimum and maximum limit of the spindle speed override and axis feedrate override based on the size of the hole that is being drilled. For especially large holes it?s important to maintain higher spindle speeds and reduced drilling infeed speed, but for smaller ones the operator can speed up the machine to reduce cycle time.
Engineering Without Boundaries
The partnership has enabled the SDT8 to maintain its most famous engineering feat: Inverted Operation. Thanks to the precise control of the NUM servodrives and the robust EtherCAT I/O architecture (using CTMG1100 gateways and high-speed CTMT modules), the machine can operate horizontally or completely upside down. This is critical for bridge builders and shipbuilders who must work on underside structural members while maintaining full torque and through-the-bit coolant flow.
?NUM?s focus on high-performance, accurate, and fast systems was the perfect match for our ?Hearn Tough? engineering philosophy,? says Chuck Sidles of Hearn. ?By combining our heavy-duty drilling capabilities with NUM?s control expertise, we?ve created a machine that handles like a stationary CNC but can be moved to where the material is located.?
Hearn Machine Tool, a multi-generational family business based in Lincoln, Nebraska, has earned a reputation as the industry?s ?problem solver.? Their flagship portable drills, the SDT7 and the high-powered SDT8, are designed to perform ?Big Hole? drilling ? up to 2 5/8 inches (6,66cm) in diameter ? directly on-site. Unlike standard workshop magnetic drills, Hearn systems are essentially mobile CNC centers, often mounted on adjustable rail frames reaching up to 12 feet (3,6m) in length.
The complexity of field drilling involves more than just raw power. Steel beams are rarely perfectly aligned with a portable machine?s frame. Traditionally, aligning a portable drill to a specific hole pattern required painstaking manual setup and constant operator intervention. To overcome this, Hearn required a control system that offered more than just motion; they needed a platform capable of dynamic adaptation and sophisticated file handling.
The Solution: A Powerful Partnership with NUM
Hearn found their ideal partner in NUM, a global leader in high-performance CNC solutions known for their ?open? architecture and technical agility. The collaboration between NUM?s control engineering staff and Hearn?s mechanical experts resulted in a bespoke implementation of the NUM Flexium+ 6 CNC system. ?The combination of NUM?s advanced system functionality and staff technical expertise with Hearn?s track record of rugged drilling capabilities have come together to deliver a game changing level of efficiency improvement for highly technical steel drilling for field operations? noted Chuck Sidles of Hearn.
The hardware suite selected for the Hearn SDT8 is a testament to modern industrial engineering. The machine is built around the Flexium+ 6 platform configured in Type M milling mode. This combination goes beyond basic drilling operations and provides dynamic 3D simulation and programming flexibility needed for complex structural work.
Advanced Interface and Intelligent Automation
The true ?brain? of the new Hearn system lies in the software integration. The machine utilizes a high-performance P2 G4 Box PC running Windows IoT Enterprise LTSC, providing a rugged and stable environment for the operator interface. By leveraging the NUM?s Flexium+ software suite, Hearn has introduced several features that drastically reduce setup time and improve production efficiency:
Dynamic Beam Alignment: One of the most significant benefits of the NUM system is the automatic compensation feature. After an operator ?teaches? the machine a few reference points on the beam, the CNC dynamically aligns the internal coordinate system to the physical beam using NUM?s inclined plane feature.This ensures that even if the portable frame is mounted at a slight angle in any plane, the holes are drilled with mathematical precision.
Direct CAD Integration: Efficiency is further enhanced by the ability to import DWG/DXF files directly into the programming interface. Operators no longer need to manually enter coordinates; they can simply load the engineering drawings, and the NUM control identifies the hole locations instantly, and can produce the most efficient motion sequence path to perform the drilling operation.
Graphical ?Skip Hole? Selection: In steel fabrication, drift pins and existing hardware often obstruct the path. The NUM interface allows operators to graphically select and ?skip? specific holes, or ?go around? holes that might have an obstruction in the way, guiding the machine safely around obstacles without rewriting the program. The programming interface also displays the current machine position so there is no guess-work to understand what the motion sequence is doing.
Resumable Interruption: Given the scale of these projects, power interruptions or tool changes are inevitable. The NUM system allows the SDT8 to detect an interrupted program and also resume a program exactly where it left off, maintaining the integrity of the workpiece and saving hours of recalibration.
Dynamic Operating Limits: The machine can intelligently set the minimum and maximum limit of the spindle speed override and axis feedrate override based on the size of the hole that is being drilled. For especially large holes it?s important to maintain higher spindle speeds and reduced drilling infeed speed, but for smaller ones the operator can speed up the machine to reduce cycle time.
Engineering Without Boundaries
The partnership has enabled the SDT8 to maintain its most famous engineering feat: Inverted Operation. Thanks to the precise control of the NUM servodrives and the robust EtherCAT I/O architecture (using CTMG1100 gateways and high-speed CTMT modules), the machine can operate horizontally or completely upside down. This is critical for bridge builders and shipbuilders who must work on underside structural members while maintaining full torque and through-the-bit coolant flow.
?NUM?s focus on high-performance, accurate, and fast systems was the perfect match for our ?Hearn Tough? engineering philosophy,? says Chuck Sidles of Hearn. ?By combining our heavy-duty drilling capabilities with NUM?s control expertise, we?ve created a machine that handles like a stationary CNC but can be moved to where the material is located.?
Über "NUM AG":
Herausragende Lösungen in der Maschinenautomation haben etwas gemeinsam: Sie entstehen immer durch überdurchschnittliche Leistungen, aussergewöhnliche Technologien und ein hohes Mass an Kreativität!
Und genau damit hat sich NUM seinen hervorragenden Namen in der Maschinenindustrie geschaffen. Wir entwickeln komplexeste, massgeschneiderte CNC-Automationslösungen, die sowohl dem Maschinenhersteller als auch dem Anwender ein Höchstmass an Wertschöpfung garantieren. Unsere Stärke als ausgewiesene CNC-Spezialisten beginnt dort, wo sie bei vielen endet: bei einer ausgeprägten Applikationskompetenz im Bereich CNC-gesteurter Produktionsmaschinen. Unser über Jahrzehnte gewachsenes, interdisziplinäres Fachwissen widerspiegelt sich in all unseren Lösungen. Dies kommt Ihnen als Kunde, Anwender und Partner direkt zugute. Wir haben eine Vielzahl kunden- und anwendungsspezifischer Lösungen für diverse Branchen entwickelt – aus der Praxis für die Praxis. Daraus kreierten unsere Ingenieure wegweisende Gesamtlösungen für anspruchsvolle Einsätze.
Und genau damit hat sich NUM seinen hervorragenden Namen in der Maschinenindustrie geschaffen. Wir entwickeln komplexeste, massgeschneiderte CNC-Automationslösungen, die sowohl dem Maschinenhersteller als auch dem Anwender ein Höchstmass an Wertschöpfung garantieren. Unsere Stärke als ausgewiesene CNC-Spezialisten beginnt dort, wo sie bei vielen endet: bei einer ausgeprägten Applikationskompetenz im Bereich CNC-gesteurter Produktionsmaschinen. Unser über Jahrzehnte gewachsenes, interdisziplinäres Fachwissen widerspiegelt sich in all unseren Lösungen. Dies kommt Ihnen als Kunde, Anwender und Partner direkt zugute. Wir haben eine Vielzahl kunden- und anwendungsspezifischer Lösungen für diverse Branchen entwickelt – aus der Praxis für die Praxis. Daraus kreierten unsere Ingenieure wegweisende Gesamtlösungen für anspruchsvolle Einsätze.