What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a hand-held punching machine?

Shop for Hand-held Punching Machines

Advantages

Quicker

The hand-held punching machine is much quicker than using a drill as there is no need to spend time making pilot holes prior to using it. All you need to do is mark where your hole needs to be, set the depth gauge and punch away.

Saves energy

This is a manually operated hand tool, so if you are conscious about saving energy and not adverse to using a little elbow grease, this tool will work for you.

Neater than drilling

If done correctly, punching a hole in a sheet material is nearly always neater than using a drill. Drills have a tendency to vibrate, wobble and tear at material, increasing the likelihood of the drill bit wandering or making a non-circular hole. Punching machines don’t have this problem.

Punch various shapes

You can purchase a variety of different shaped punches and corresponding dies for punching machines, giving you a greater choice of applications.

Disadvantages

Limited to punching certain thicknesses

A hand-held punching machine can only be used on certain thicknesses of material. If a sheet material is too thick it either will not fit in between the jaws or will simply be too thick to punch through.

Limited to punching certain materials

A hand-held punching machine is limited to making holes in certain materials. Some materials may be too dense or hard to punch through and for these you may be better off using a drill.

Limited reach

Because the jaws have a limited depth, you are limited to punching a hole within a certain distance of the edge of your workpiece. If you need to create a hole in the centre of a large piece of material then you are better off using a drill.