Tag Archive for: drill bits

An Introduction to Reamers & CNC Reaming

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Most machinists are familiar with CNC drilling, but did you know that the common practice for holemaking is to always use a reamer? When done correctly, reaming can be a fast and highly accurate operation that results in precision holes.

Critical Reamer Geometries

reamers
Harvey Tool Miniature Reamer

By examining a Harvey Tool Miniature Reamer and its critical dimensions, we can better understand the functionality of this useful tool. In the above image of a straight flute reamer, D1 references the reamer diameter, the specific size intended for your hole; and D2 points to the shank diameter. At Harvey Tool, reamer shanks are oversized to help maintain tool strength, stiffness, and accuracy. Shanks also have an h6 tolerance, which is crucial for high precision tool holders, such as heat shrink collets. Other critical dimensions of a reamer include its overall length (L1), margin length (L2), overall reach (L3), and chamfer length (L4).

Harvey Tool also offers Miniature Reamers – Right Hand Spiral. This tool is designed to leave a superior part finish and help with chip evacuation in blind hole applications.

miniature reamer

The Functions of Miniature Reamers

Reamers Provide Precision – As mentioned earlier, reamers are great for machining precision hole diameters. To use a reamer properly, you must first have a pre-drilled hole that’s between 90% and 94% of the final hole diameter. For example, if you need a finished a hole of .220″, your predrilled hole should be somewhere between .1980″ and .2068″. This allows the tool to take enough material off to leave a great finish, but does not overwork it, potentially causing damage. The tolerance for uncoated reamers is +.0000″/-.0002″, while the tolerance for AlTiN coating is +.0002″/-.0000″. These tolerances provide you the peace of mind of knowing that your hole will meet exact specifications.

Achieve a Quality CNC Finish – When a high surface finish is required of a hole, reamers should always be used to reach the desired tolerance. Both the pre-drilled hole and the tool’s margin help to keep the reamer centered while cutting, leading to a better finish.

miniature reamer and end mill

Minimize Machining Production Runs – For machine shops, consistency is a priority. This is especially true in production runs. The last thing a machinist wants to see is an oversized hole on a part they have already preformed many operations on. Remember, reamers have the benefit of offering consistent hole size, preventing an out of tolerance finish. These consistent holes lead to valuable time savings and reduced scrap costs.

CNC Machining Exotic Alloys: When machining Inconel, titanium, and other high-cost materials, reaming your hole is important to ensure that the desired finish specification is met. With reamers, a machinists can better predict tool life, leading to a better finished product and less scrap ratios. It is important to note that Harvey Tool reamers are offered AlTiN coated and fully stocked in every .0005” increment from .0080” to .0640”.

Drill / End Mills: Drill Style vs. Mill Style

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Drill / End Mills are one of the most versatile tools in a machinist’s arsenal. These tools can perform a number of different operations, freeing space on your carousel and improving cycle times by limiting the need for tool changes. These operations include:

  1. Drilling
  2. V-Grooving
  3. Milling
  4. Spot Drilling
  5. Chamfering

Shop Harvey Tool Dill/End Mills Today – Fully Stocked in Multiple Styles

The ability of the Drill / End Mill to cut along the angled tip as well as the outer diameter gives it the range of operations seen above and makes it an excellent multi-functional tool.

drill mill operations

Drill Style vs. Mill Style

The main difference between Drill / End Mill styles is the point geometry.  They are defined by how the flutes are designed on the end of the tool, using geometry typically seen on either an end mill or a drill.  While mill style tools follow the features of an end mill or chamfer mill, the drill style geometry uses an S-gash at the tip.  This lends strength to the tip of the tool, while giving it the ability to efficiently and accurately penetrate material axially.  While both styles are capable of OD milling, mill style tools will be better for chamfering operations, while drill style will excel in drilling.  The additional option of the Harvey Tool spiral tipped Drill / End Mill is an unprecedented design in the industry.  This tool combines end geometry taken from our helical flute chamfer cutters with a variable helix on the OD for enhanced performance. Versatility without sacrificing finish and optimal performance is the result.

drill mills
Left to Right: 2 Flute Drill Style End, 2 Flute Mill Style End, 4 Flute Mill Style End

Drill Mills: Tool Offering

Harvey Tool currently offers Drill / End Mills in a variety of styles that can perform in different combinations of machining applications:

Mill Style – 2 Flute

This tool is designed for chamfering, milling, drilling non-ferrous materials, and light duty spotting. Drilling and spotting operations are recommended only for tools with an included angle greater than 60°. This is a general rule for all drill mills with a 60° point. Harvey Tool stocks five different angles of 2 flute mill-style Drill / End Mills, which include 60°, 82°, 90°, 100° and 120°. They are offered with an AlTiN coating on all sizes as well as a TiB2 coating for cutting aluminum with a 60° and 90° angle.

drill mill

Mill Style – 4 Flute

4 flute mill-style Drill / End Mills have two flutes that come to center and two flutes that are cut back. This Drill / End Mill is designed for the same operations as the 2 flute style, but has a larger core in addition the higher flute count. The larger core gives the tool more strength and allows it to machine a harder range of materials. The additional flutes create more points of contact when machining, leading to better surface finish. AlTiN coating is offered on all 5 available angles (60°, 82°, 90°, 100°, and 120°) of this tool for great performance in a wide array of ferrous materials.

drill mill

Drill Style – 2 Flute

This tool is specifically designed for the combination of milling, drilling, spotting and light duty chamfering applications in ferrous and non-ferrous materials. This line is offered with a 90°, 120°, and 140° included angle as well as AlTiN coating.

drill mills drill style

Helical Tip – 4 Flute

The Helically Tipped Drill / End Mill offers superior performance in chamfering, milling and light duty spotting operations. The spiral tip design allows for exceptional chip evacuation and surface finish. This combined with an OD variable helix design to reduce chatter and harmonics makes this a valuable tool in any machine shop. It is offered in 60°, 90°, and 120° included angles and comes standard with the latest generation AlTiN Nano coating that offers superior hardness and heat resistance.

Choosing the Right Pecking Cycle Approach

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Utilizing a proper pecking cycle strategy when drilling is important to both the life of your tool and its performance in your part. Recommended cycles vary depending on the drill being used, the material you’re machining, and your desired final product.

Start to Boost Your Accuracy with Harvey Tool’s Drilling Guidebook.

What are Pecking Cycles?

Rather than drill to full drill depth in one single plunge, pecking cycles involve several passes – a little at a time. Peck drilling aids the chip evacuation process, helps support tool accuracy while minimizing walking, prevents chip packing and breakage, and results in a better all around final part.

Miniature Drills

miniature drill pecking cycles

High Performance Drills – Flat Bottom

high performance drill pecking cycles

High Performance Drills – Aluminum & Aluminum Alloys

aluminum pecking cycles

Note: For hole depths 12x or greater, a pilot hole of up to 1.5X Diameter is recommended.

High Performance Drills – Hardened Steels

hardened steels chart
High Performance Drills – Prehardened Steels

prehardened steels chart

Key Pecking Cycle Takeaways

From the above tables, it’s easy to identify how recommended peck drilling cycles change based on the properties of the material being machined. Unsurprisingly, the harder the material is, the shorter the recommended pecking depths are. As always, miniature drills with a diameter of less than .010″ are extremely fragile and require special precautions to avoid immediate failure. For help with your specific job, contact the Harvey Tool Technical Team at 800-645-5609 or [email protected]

What You Need to Know About Coolant for CNC Machining

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Coolant in purpose is widely understood – it’s used to temper high temperatures common during machining, and aid in chip evacuation. However, there are several types and styles, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Knowing which cnc coolant – or if any – is appropriate for your job can help to boost your shop’s profitability, capability, and overall machining performance.

Coolant or Lubricant Purpose

Coolant and lubricant are terms used interchangeably, though not all coolants are lubricants. Compressed air, for example, has no lubricating purpose but works only as a cooling option. Direct coolants – those which make physical contact with a part – can be compressed air, water, oil, synthetics, or semi-synthetics. When directed to the cutting action of a tool, these can help to fend off high temperatures that could lead to melting, warping, discoloration, or tool failure. Additionally, coolant can help evacuate chips from a part, preventing chip recutting and aiding in part finish.

Coolant can be expensive, however, and wasteful if not necessary. Understanding the amount of coolant needed for your job can help your shop’s efficiency.

Click Here to Shop Harvey Tool’s Fully Stocked Offering of Deep Hole Coolant Through Drills

Types of Coolant Delivery

CNC coolant is delivered in several different forms – both in properties and pressure. The most common forms include air, mist, flood coolant, high pressure, and Minimum Quantity Lubricant (MQL). Choosing the wrong pressure can lead to part or tool damage, whereas choosing the wrong amount can lead to exhausted shop resources.

Air: Cools and clears chips, but has no lubricity purpose. Air coolant does not cool as efficiently as water or oil-based coolants. For more sensitive materials, air coolant is often preferred over types that come in direct contact with the part. This is true with many plastics, where thermal shock – or rapid expansion and contraction of a part – can occur if direct coolant is applied.

Mist: This type of low pressure coolant is sufficient for instances where chip evacuation and heat are not major concerns. Because the pressure applied is not great in a mist, the part and tool do not undergo additional stresses.

Flood: This low pressure method creates lubricity and flushes chips from a part to avoid chip recutting, a common and tool damaging occurrence.

High Pressure: Similar to flood coolant, but delivered in greater than 1,000 psi. This is a great option for chip removal and evacuation, as it blasts the chips away from the part. While this method will effectively cool a part immediately, the pressure can be high enough to break miniature diameter tooling. This method is used often in deep pocket or drilling operations, and can be delivered via coolant through tooling, or coolant grooves built into the tool itself. Harvey Tool offers Coolant Through Drills, while Titan USA proudly offers Coolant-Fed ThreadMills

Minimum Quantity Lubricant (MQL): Every machine shop focuses on how to gain a competitive advantage – to spend less, make more, and boost shop efficiency. That’s why many shops are opting for MQL, along with its obvious environmental benefits. Using only the necessary amount of coolant will dramatically reduce costs and wasted material. This type of lubricant is applied as an aerosol, or an extremely fine mist, to provide just enough coolant to perform a given operation effectively.

To see all of these coolant styles in action, check out the video below from our partners at CimQuest.

In Conclusion

CNC coolant is all-too-often overlooked as a major component of a machining operation. The type of coolant or lubricant, and the pressure at which it’s applied, is vital to both machining success and optimum shop efficiency. Coolant can be applied as compressed air, mist, in a flooding property, or as high pressure. Certain machines also are MQL able, meaning they can effectively restrict the amount of coolant being applied to the very amount necessary to avoid being wasteful.