Sandvik Coromant, a world leader in machining solutions, has introduced two new micro drill families for precision machining. The CoroDrill 462 with -XM geometry and the CoroDrill 862 with -GM geometry is ideal for industries including medical, automotive, electronics, and aerospace requiring small components manufacture. The new drills are designed to cover a range of workpiece materials and provide precise performance where accuracy is critical.
Devices in a variety of industries are getting smaller. Electronics is a good example of this with modern equipment having more capabilities in smaller packages. In medical device production, the growing trend of minimally invasive surgery — which uses ways to reduce the amount and degree of incisions a surgeon makes — necessitates more intricate surgical tools.
Manufacturers require equipment that can make smaller, more intricate pieces as the size of technology shrinks and the level of intricacy rises. Micro drilling is a phrase used by drilling experts to describe holes with a diameter of less than three millimetres (mm).
This can refer to holes as small as a few hundredths of a millimetre in thickness, which are widespread in the electronics sector, but more common applications include the aerospace industry, mould and die manufacture, and medical equipment manufacturing.
Sandvik Coromant’s CoroDrill 462 and 862 are the next generations of micro drills. The drills, which are available in new geometries to give a wider range of cutting diameters and lengths than prior assortments, have a larger product range.
The drills have been modified to solve the difficulties of micro drilling. When performing deep-hole drilling with micro-instruments, for example, quality coolant is necessary, just as it is in macroscale applications, to successfully remove chips.
When using external coolant, the CoroDrill 462 and 862 can drill holes up to nine times their diameter (xD), and a through-coolant option is available for drilling sizes of 1.00mm and above and hole depths of up to 16xD. Not only does proper coolant usage aid in drilling deeper holes, but it also extends the life of the tools and lowers the possibility of chip jamming.
The CoroDrill 462 is a high-performance hole drill that can drill holes up to 3.00mm in diameter. The drill is capable of drilling blind and through holes in a range of ISO materials, including ISO P, M, K, N, S, O, and H. The CoroDrill 462 gives manufacturers a versatile drilling solution with a drill depth of 6xD.
When used with an internal coolant, the CoroDrill 862 is suited for drilling holes from 1.00mm to 3.00mm in diameter in all materials. The CoroDrill 862 enables a variety of drilling tasks, including cross holes, stack drilling, and drilling convex and concave surfaces, in addition to standard drilling.
Both the CoroDrill 462 and 862 can be customised in addition to being off-the-shelf solid carbide tools. Sandvik Coromant has made it feasible for manufacturers who require a bespoke approach to micro-drilling to configure the tools based on diameters, useable length, step-diameter length, and shank diameter as part of the range.
Customers can also get the CoroDrill 862 with a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) vein cutting edge if they like. Solid carbide is up to 100 times more wear-resistant than PCD. Furthermore, PCD tooling is more accurate than solid carbide tooling and may achieve tighter tolerances. Customers that need to drill micro-sized holes in materials that are notoriously difficult to process, such as titanium, aluminium, glass, or ceramics, might choose PCD.
“The CoroDrill 462 and 862 usher in a new era for micro-drilling,” stated James Thorpe, Sandvik Coromant’s Global Product Manager. “Since the launch of our last micro drills, we’ve made major modifications with the goal of delivering more options to our customers”.
James continues, “Whether you’re making luxury timepieces or aerospace parts, the need for intricacy is higher than ever in today’s industrial scene.” We know that as items become smaller and more complicated, we must adapt and make our drills capable of cutting tiny holes. Because the applications that require micro-drilling are so diverse, we’re providing more configurable solutions in addition to a larger selection of basic equipment.”
Sandvik Coromant’s existing R840 and current 862 micro drill assortments will be replaced by the CoroDrill 462 and 862.
