Characteristics of allied drills
Professional consumer-type drills do their job extremely well but they are not intended for industrial applications. The allied drills are more specialized tools made from premium materials that provides great toughness and improves wear resistance. Its unique geometry is ideal for specialized applications. Different coating options are available for optimized performance of speed and penetration. It delivers the strength and versatility necessary for deep hole drilling applications.
Making a choice for industrial drills
Majority of industrial allied drills come in the twist or insert designs but selecting the right drill bit for the application can be somehow confusing. Insert drill bits are relatively inexpensive and can be cheaply replaced once it gets dull. The twist drill design constitutes a large portion of the drill bits manufactured since it reduces the necessity for de-burring treatments. Insert drill bits typically leave a burr at the hole exits that requires post-drilling smoothing treatments. The twist drill features a winding corkscrew flute pattern where the shape and sharpness of the flute is responsible to its operation. However, worker training is essential to handle the twist drill.
Drills for CNC metal fabrication
A wide variety of allied drills are used in metal fabrication and they usually come in the twist and insert formats but for CNC-based metal working, the choice depends on other factors aside from the type of metal drilled, workpiece thickness and the speed required for production. The criterion for selection includes:
- Indexable drill – comes in the form of an insert drill bit that is used for CNC-based metal fabrication because they can drill rapidly and produce holes up to five times the diameter of the drill shaft. These ceramic inserts serve as the cutting edges for both the inner and outer spans of the cut and its hardened tip reduces the need for re-sharpening.
- Spade drill – is a two part device with a metal body and removable bit clamped into a precise slot. The drill bit is usually in a twist format with special notches along the cutting edge so as to eliminate long chips that can clog the drilling area.
- Ejector drill – is used mostly for deep hole drilling operations and can be equipped with either a single or multiple cutting head. The single head has one cutting edge on the side that can create large radial holes while the multiple head can produce wide diameter holes. It often includes brazed carbide tips near the center line so as to improve cutting balance.