Drilling
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- For other uses of drilling see Data drilling, Boring, Well drilling, seed drill or Deep well drilling
Drilling is the process of using a drill bit in a drill to produce cylindrical holes in solid materials.
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[edit] Drilling in metal
Under normal usage, swarf is carried up and away from the tip of the drill bit by the fluting. The continued production of chips from the cutting edges produces more chips which continue the movement of the chips outwards from the hole. This continues until the chips pack too tightly, either because of deeper than normal holes or insufficient backing off (removing the drill slightly or totally from the hole while drilling). Lubricants and coolants (i.e. cutting fluid) are sometimes used to ease this problem and to prolong the tools life by cooling and lubricating the tip and chip flow. Coolant is introduced via holes through the drill shank (see gun drill bits).
Straight fluting is used for copper or brass, as this exhibits less tendency to "dig in" or grab the material. If a helical drill (twist drill) is used then the same effect can be achieved by stoning a small flat parallel with the axis of the drill bit.
For heavy feeds and comparatively deep holes oil-hole drills can be used, with a lubricant pumped to the drill head through a small hole in the bit and flowing out along the fluting. A conventional drill press arrangement can be used in oil well drilling, but is more commonly seen in automatic drilling machinery in which it is the workpiece that rotates rather than the drill bit.
[edit] Drilling in wood
Wood being softer than most metals, drilling in wood is considerably easier and faster than drilling in metal. Cutting fluids are not used or needed. The main issue in drilling wood is assuring clean entry and exit holes and preventing burning. Avoiding burning is a question of using sharp bits and the appropriate cutting speed. Drill bits can tear out chips of wood around the top and bottom of the hole and this is undesirable in fine woodworking applications.
The ubiquitous twist drill bits used in metalworking also work well in wood, but they tend to chip wood out at the entry and exit of the hole. In some cases, as in rough holes for carpentry, the quality of the hole does not matter, and a number of bits for fast cutting in wood exist, including spade bits and self-feeding auger bits. Many types of specialised drill bits for boring clean holes in wood have been developed, including brad-point bits, Forstner bits and hole saws. As well, chipping on exit can be minimized by using a piece of wood as backing behind the work piece.
Holes are easier to start in wood as the drill bit can be accurately positioned by pushing it into the wood and creating a dimple. The bit will thus have no tendency to wander. In metal working, an accurate position needs to be marked with a punch to avoid the bit wandering from the desired position of the hole.
[edit] Microdrilling
Microdrilling refers to the drilling of holes less than 0.5 mm. Drilling of holes at this small diameter presents greater problems since coolant fed drills cannot be used and high spindle speeds are required.
The National Jet Company is one of the world's leading experts on manufacturer of microscopic holes by means of mechanical drilling. Using specialized drilling equipment, National Jet has created holes consistently and accurately down to the level of 0.0002 inches. To put that into perspectives a human hair is approximately 0.004 inches in diameter. One of the well known advertisements for National Jet shows a human hair under a microsope with a hole drilled through it using a National Jet Drilling station.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
 Metalworking:
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Die head | Drill | Drill bit | Drill bit shank | Drill bit sizes | Drill and tap size chart | Drilling | Jig borer | Pin chuck | Screw thread | Taps and dies | Tap wrench |
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