Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
(OP)
I need some advice on repetitively drilling holes in aluminum.
Here's my situation - I have a 2.75 in dia. 2014-T6 aluminum piece that I am drilling 12 holes radially around the piece. The holes I'm drilling are .126-.128 dia by .205-.215 deep. I have a machine that uses a Suhner drilling unit to drill the holes. The Suhner drilling unit uses air pressure and a hydraulic check cylinder to feed in the drill. The drill is turning at about 5000 RPM. I am currently using a 3.2 MM cobalt drill bit with a standard 118 deg point.
My questions are - 1) what would the best drill bit to use? Coated? High helix? Different type of point? 2) I've been doing this operation dry but have noticed some build-up of aluminum on the drill point. Should I try some sort of coolant? Is a coolant really necessary?
Thanks for any advice!
Lee N.
Here's my situation - I have a 2.75 in dia. 2014-T6 aluminum piece that I am drilling 12 holes radially around the piece. The holes I'm drilling are .126-.128 dia by .205-.215 deep. I have a machine that uses a Suhner drilling unit to drill the holes. The Suhner drilling unit uses air pressure and a hydraulic check cylinder to feed in the drill. The drill is turning at about 5000 RPM. I am currently using a 3.2 MM cobalt drill bit with a standard 118 deg point.
My questions are - 1) what would the best drill bit to use? Coated? High helix? Different type of point? 2) I've been doing this operation dry but have noticed some build-up of aluminum on the drill point. Should I try some sort of coolant? Is a coolant really necessary?
Thanks for any advice!
Lee N.





RE: Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
RE: Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
RE: Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
this is what works for us.
good luck
RE: Need advice on drilling holes in Aluminum
this is teoretical problems. Alu making dirty on sharps between 300-600 Celsius. You must go down or up this temperature. Best for you (productivity) is go up. You must use about 15 000 RPM. On this moment you will have not problems. We use milling tools 40 mm dia and 7 500 rpm without cooling. If you use this cutting speed you will not problems. You must recalculate from this cutting condition.
If you have more problems contact me I have more experience with High spee cutting in Aerospace Industry. Good Luck. Libor