Planer Machine

Planer Machine
The planer machine is similar to a shaper machine. It intended to produce plane and flat surfaces by
a single-point cutting tool. A planer machine is very large and massive compared to a shaper
machine. It is capable of a machining heavy workpiece, which cannot be fit on a shaper table.

The fundamental difference between a shaper and a planer is that

 In a planer, the work which is supported on the table reciprocates over the stationary
cutting tool. And the feed is supplied by the lateral movement of the tool.
 In a shaper, the tool which is mounted upon the ram reciprocates. And the feed is given by
the crosswise movement of the table.

Read also: 6 Different types of Shaper Machine Operations

Types of Planer Machine

Following are the different types of planer machine:

1. Standard or Double housing type planer machine

2. open side type planer machine
3. Pit planer machine
4. Edge or plate planer
5. Divided table planer

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Different classes of work necessitate designing the different types of planer machine to suit various
requirements of our present-day industry.

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Parts of Planer Machine

Following are the important parts of the planer machine:

 Bed
 Table or Platen
 Housing or Column
 Cross rail
 Tool head
 Driving and Feed Mechanism

Bed

 The bed of a planer is a box-like casting having cross ribs. It is very large in size and heavy in
weight and it supports the column and all other moving parts of the machine.
 The bed is made slightly longer than twice the length of the table so that the full length of
the table may be moved on it.
 It is provided with precision ways over the entire length on its top surface and the table
slides on it.
 In a standard machine, two V-type of guideways are provided.
 Three or more guideways may be provided on a very large wide machine for supporting the
table.
 Some of these guideways may be the flat type to lend support to the table.
 The guideways should be horizontal, true and parallel to each other.
 The ways are properly lubricated and in modern machines oil under pressure is pumped into
the different parts of the guideways to ensure a continuous and adequate supply of
lubricants.
 The hollow space within the box-like the structure of the bed houses the driving mechanism
for the table.

Table

 The table supports the work and reciprocates along with the ways of the bed.
 The planer table is a heavy rectangular casting and is made of good quality cast iron.
 The top face of the planer table is accurately finished in order to locate the work correctly.
 T-slots are provided on the entire length of the table so that the work and work holding
devices may be bolted upon it.
 Accurate holes are drilled on the top surface of the planer table at regular intervals for
supporting the poppets and stop pins.
 At each end of the table, a hollow space is left which acts as a trough for collecting chips.
Long works can also rest upon the troughs.
 A groove is cut on the side of the table for clamping planer reversing dogs at different
positions.
 In a standard planer, the table is made up of one single casting but in a divided table planer
there are two separate tables mounted upon the bedways.

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 The tables may be reciprocated individually or together. All planets have some form of
safety device to prevent the heavily loaded table from running away in case of electrical or
mechanical failure which otherwise would have caused severe damage to the machine.
 Hydraulic bumpers are sometimes fitted at the end of the bed to stop the table from
overrunning giving cushioning effect.
 In some machines, if the table overruns, a large cutting tool bolted to the underside of the
table will take a deep cut on a replaceable block attached to the bed, absorbing the kinetic
energy of the moving table.

Housing

 The housings also called columns or uprights are rigid box-like vertical structures placed on
each side of the bed and are fastened to the sides of the bed.
 They are heavily ribbed to take up severe forces due to cutting.
 The front face of each housing is accurately machined to provide precision ways on which
the cross rail may be made to slide up and down for accommodating different heights of
work.
 Two side-toolheads also slide upon it. The housing encloses the Crossrail elevating screw,
vertical and crossfeed screws for tool heads, counterbalancing weight for the Crossrail, etc.
These screws operated either by hand or power.

Cross rail

 The Crossrail is a rigid box-like casting connecting the two housings. This construction
ensures the rigidity of the machine.
 The Crossrail may be raised or lowered on the face of the housing and can be clamped at any
desired position by manual, hydraulic or electrical clamping devices.
 The Crossrail when clamped should remain absolutely parallel to the top surface of the
table, i.e. it must be horizontal irrespective of its position.
 This is necessary to generate a flat horizontal surface on a workpiece because the tool
follows the pat on the Crossrail during crossfeed.
 The two elevating screws in the two housing are rotated by an equal amount to keep the
Crossrail horizontal in any position.
 The front face of the cross rail is accurately machined to provide a guide surface for the tool
head saddle.
 Usually, two toolheads, are mounted upon the Crossrail which are called railhead.
 The Crossrail has screws for vertical and crossfeed of the toolheads and a screw for elevating
the rail. These screws rotated either by hand or by power.

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Tool-head

The tool head of a planer is similar to that of a shaper both in construction and operation.

The important parts of a tool head are:

1. Saddle
2. Swivel base
3. Vertical Slide

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4. Apron
5. Clapper box
6. Clapper block
7. Toolpost
8. Down feed screw
9. Apron clamping bolt,
10. Apron swivelling pin
11. Mechanism for cross and down-feed of the tool.

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Different Types of Planer Machine

1. Standard or Double housing type planer machine
2. open side type planer machine
3. Pit planer machine
4. Edge or plate planer
5. Divided table planer

1. Standard or Double Housing Planer Machine

The standard or double housing planer is the most widely used types of planer machine in
workshops. A double housing planer has a long heavy base on which a table reciprocates on
accurate guideways.

 The length of the bed is little over twice the length of the table.
 Two massive vertical housings or uprights are mounted near the middle of the base, one on
each side of the bed. To ensure the rigidity of the structure, these two housings are
connected at the top by a cast-iron member.
 The vertical faces of the two housing are accurately machined so that horizontal
Crossrail carrying two tool heads may slide upon it.
 The tool heads which hold the tools are mounted upon the Crossrail.

These tools may be feed either by the power in Crossrail or vertical direction. In addition to these
tool heads, there are two other tool heads which are mounted upon the vertical face of the housing.

They can also be moved either in a vertical or horizontal direction to apply feed. The planer table
may be driven either by mechanical or hydraulic devices.

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2. Openside Planer Machine

An openside planer has a housing only on one side of the base. And the Crossrail is suspended from
the housing as a cantilever. This feature of the machine allows the large and wide workpiece to be
clamped on the table and reciprocated over the cutting tool.

One side of the planer being opened, large and wide jobs may project out of the table and
reciprocate without being interfered by the housing.

In a double housing planer, the maximum width of the job which can be machined is limited by the
distance between the two housing. As the single housing has to take up the entire load, it is made
extra-massive to resist the forces.

Only three tool heads are mounted on this machine. The constructional and driving features of the
machine are the same as that of a double housing planer.

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3. Pit Planer Machine

A pit type planer is massive in construction. It differs from an ordinary planer. In this the table is
stationary and the column carrying the Crossrail reciprocates on massive horizontal rails mounted on
both sides of the table.

This types of planer machine are suitable for machining a very large work which cannot be
supported on a standard planer. This machine design saves much of floor space.

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The length of the bed required in a pit type planer is little over the length of the table. Whereas in a
standard planer the length of the bed is near twice the length of the table. The uprights and the
Crossrail are made sufficiently rigid to take up the forces while cutting.

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4. Edge or Plate Planer

The design of a plate or edge planer is totally unlike that of an ordinary planer. It is specially
intended for squaring and bevelling the edges of steel plates. Also used for different pressure vessels
and ship-building works.

One end of a long plate which remains stationary is clamped with the machine frame by a large
number so air operated clamps. The cutting tool is attached to a carriage which is supported on two
horizontal ways of the planer on its front end.

The operator can stand on a platform extending from the carriage. The carriage holding the tool
reciprocates over the edge of the plate. The feed and depth of cut are adjusted by the tool holder
which can be operated from the platform.

Read Also: Broaching Machine: Types, Operations, Advantages and Broaching Methods

5. Divided Table Planer

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This type of planer has two tables on the bed which may be reciprocated separately or together.

This type of design saves much of idle time while setting the work. The setting up of a large number
of identical workpieces on the planing machine table takes quite a long time. It may require as much
time for setting up as may necessary for machining.

To have continuous production on the table is used for setting up the work. While the other
reciprocates over the cutting tool finishing the work. When the work on the second table is finished,
it is stopped and finished jobs are removed.

Fresh jobs are now set up on this table while the first table holding the jobs now reciprocates over
the tool. When a heavy and large job has to be machined, both the table are clamped together and
are given reciprocating movement under the tool.

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