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With its new Beyond grade of fine-grain carbide and unique point geometry, the new HPS solid-carbide drill from Kennametal is reportedly achieving excellent metal-removal rates and long tool life, making it an ideal tool for holemaking in aluminum.
Maintaining crucial production schedules while controlling costs is extremely hard when it comes to making high-precision holes in aluminum. Superhard polycrystalline diamond (PCD) drills are being chosen in up to 80 percent of transportation industry applications to date for cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, gear boxes, suspension parts, and many other critical components.
The downside is premium PCD solutions come at a premium price, making it extremely difficult for automotive industry suppliers and others to control costs and still maintain stringent production schedules.
Kennametal's Beyond KN15 carbide grade is specifically tailored for aluminum machining and features a highly polished surface that reduces friction on flutes, margins, and cutting edges. This results in superior chip evacuation, even in minimum-quantity lubrication (MQL) processes. Drill design features include a proprietary 135-degree high-performance drill point for excellent centering capabilities and improved feeds, and sharp cutting edges that lower cutting forces and extend tool life. An enlarged spiral flute design further speeds chip evacuation and reduces cutting forces.
Diameters range from 3.0 to 20.0mm (0.118 to 0.787") and lengths of 3XD and 5XD (through-coolant). Inch, metric, fractions, and tapping sizes are also available.
Related Glossary Terms
- centering
centering
1. Process of locating the center of a workpiece to be mounted on centers. 2. Process of mounting the workpiece concentric to the machine spindle. See centers.
- flutes
flutes
Grooves and spaces in the body of a tool that permit chip removal from, and cutting-fluid application to, the point of cut.
- minimum-quantity lubrication
minimum-quantity lubrication
Use of cutting fluids of only a minute amount—typically at a flow rate of 50 to 500 ml/hr.—which is about three to four orders of magnitude lower than the amount commonly used in flood cooling. The concept addresses the issues of environmental intrusiveness and occupational hazards associated with the airborne cutting fluid particles on factory shop floors. The minimization of cutting fluid also saves lubricant costs and the cleaning cycle time for workpieces, tooling and machines. Sometimes referred to as “near-dry lubrication” or “microlubrication.”
- polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)
polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)
Cutting tool material consisting of natural or synthetic diamond crystals bonded together under high pressure at elevated temperatures. PCD is available as a tip brazed to a carbide insert carrier. Used for machining nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials at high cutting speeds.
- polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)2
polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)
Cutting tool material consisting of natural or synthetic diamond crystals bonded together under high pressure at elevated temperatures. PCD is available as a tip brazed to a carbide insert carrier. Used for machining nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials at high cutting speeds.
- tapping
tapping
Machining operation in which a tap, with teeth on its periphery, cuts internal threads in a predrilled hole having a smaller diameter than the tap diameter. Threads are formed by a combined rotary and axial-relative motion between tap and workpiece. See tap.
