Machine selection before drilling
- Machine stability in general, vibration-free spindle.
- Can the spindle achieve sufficient speed for small drill diameters?
- Does the machine have access to internal cooling ?
- Is the coolant volume of the machine sufficient for large diameter drills?
- Does the machine have enough coolant pressure for small drill diameters?
- Does the machine have a horizontal or vertical spindle? It will affect chip evacuation in different ways.
- Does the machine have enough power to drive large diameter drills?
Internal cooling.
Is it possible to drill Hardox® in an unstable drilling machine?
Use HSS Co drills only when you have unstable machine conditions. HSS Co drills are only suitable up to 500 Brinell. Use an HSS Co drill (8% Co) with a small helix angle and a robust core that can withstand high torques. When using this type of drill in Hardox®, it is possible to drill a few holes before the drill is worn out and needs to be reground. Cutting data and tips for this type of drill can be found in the brochure Machining recommendations for Hardox®.
If the machine conditions are good, you can choose among solid cemented carbide drills, drills with exchangeable heads or indexable insert drills.
If I am going to drill in Hardox® and have stable machine conditions, what drills are available?
If you have stable machine conditions, you should always choose a drill equipped with cemented carbide. These drills have significantly higher productivity compared to high-speed steel drills.
- Solid Cemented Carbide drill
- Indexable Insert drill
- Exchangeable Head drill
The information in this report is only applicable to SSAB’s products and should not be applied to any other products than original SSAB products.
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