Abstract: In an automatic fastening machine comprising a frame, drilling assembly carried by the frame for drilling a fastener receiving hole in a workpiece and an arrangement carried by the frame for installing a fastener in the hole drilled in the workpiece, the drilling assembly comprising a drill spindle having an axis of rotation and a drilling tool at one end thereof and rotatably mounted in a ram movable on the machine frame toward and away from the workpiece, the improvement of a brushless synchronous a.c. servomotor including an output shaft having an axis of rotation and an arrangement for connecting the motor directly to the drill spindle with the axis of rotation of the motor shaft coincident with the axis of rotation of the drill spindle. There is also provided a fan on the frame and positioned to direct cooling air onto the motor.