Holemaking

Whether it’s using drills to make holes, borings bars or reamers to enlarge their IDs, or taps to thread them, this is where to read up about holemaking. Holemaking is a process used to cut a hole in a part or a workpiece.

Finding the Right Tools for a Turning Shop
Turning Tools

Finding the Right Tools for a Turning Shop

Xcelicut is a startup shop that has grown thanks to the right machines, cutting tools, grants and other resources.

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Leaders-In background

ESSENTIAL READING

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Aerospace

How to Turn Machine Shop Downtime Into Process Expertise

To take advantage of a lull in business, JR Machine devised a week-long cutting tool event that elevated the shop’s capabilities with aerospace alloys.

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Holemaking

How to Tackle Tough Angled Pocket Milling With Two Tools

Milling a deep pocket with a tight corner radius comes with unique challenges, but using both a flat bottom drill and a necked-down finishing tool can help.

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Holemaking

Choosing Your Carbide Grade: A Guide

Without an international standard for designating carbide grades or application ranges, users must rely on relative judgments and background knowledge for success.

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Toolholders

Cutting Tool Technology Aids Lights-Out Machining Applications

These features can help improve cutting tool stability, standardize cutting performance and extend tool life, enabling shops to confidently run unattended shifts.  

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CNC Tech Talks

How to Improve Peck Drilling Canned Cycles

Most CNCs don’t have a canned cycle for machining deep holes into malleable materials. Here’s what you do.

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Basics

Tips for Thread Milling Tricky Materials

Compared to tapping, thread-milling technology offers advantages for creating threads in challenging materials, such as tool steel, stainless steel and high-temperature alloys. Here are a few tips for establishing an effective thread-milling process in those materials.

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Iscar
Kyocera SGS
Horn USA
GWS Tool Group
Iscar

Latest Holemaking News And Updates

Toolholders

ETP Transmission Toolholders Feature Hydraulic Clamping

IMTS 2024: ETP Transmission showcases its Hydro-Fix Swiss hydraulic clamping toolholders, designed to handle 26 different shank sizes, accelerating cutting tool changes.

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IMTS

Engis Boring Tool Provides Burr-Free Finishes

IMTS 2024: Engis Corp. presents its Engis Hybrid solution for boring finishing processes, designed to produce sharper, burr-free finishes on cross holes and meter edges within the part.

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Holemaking

Walter Boring Bars Provide Fast, Precise Tool Changes

The Walter QuadFit cylindrical modular interface enables quick and easy replacement of exchangeable heads.

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Holemaking

Tungaloy Drill System Enables Modular Tool Assembly

The DrillMeister exchangeable-head drill system is designed to improve machining efficiency and offer versatility in operations like pre-thread drilling.

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Holemaking

Heule Spot Facing, Counterboring Tool Provides Flexible Machining

The Solo L tooling system for spot facing and counterboring is well suited for a wide range machining applications.

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Holemaking

Seco Tools' Reamers Optimize Chip Evacuation

The Nanojet solid-carbide reamers are designed to stop chip jamming and enhance application stability.

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IMCO
Ingersoll Cutting Tools
Scientific Cutting Tools makes over 8,000 tools
Sumitomo
Kyocera

Featured Posts

Holemaking

Custom PCD Tools Extend Shop’s Tool Life Upward of Ten Times

Adopting PCD tooling has extended FT Precision’s tool life from days to months — and the test drill is still going strong.

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Holemaking

Form Tapping Improves Tool Life, Costs

Moving from cut tapping to form tapping for a notable application cut tooling costs at Siemens Energy and increased tool life a hundredfold.

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Holemaking

10 Ways Additive Manufacturing and Machining Go Together and Affect One Another

Forget “additive versus subtractive.” Machining and metal additive manufacturing are interconnected, and enhance the possibilities for one another. Here is a look at just some of the ways additive and machining interrelate right now.

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Holemaking

New Machining Technology Works With Old to Restore WWII Submarine

A set of donated boring bars that can be used in a 1954 boring head will enable volunteer machinists to recreate a pair of binoculars for the USS Pampanito.

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How to Turn Machine Shop Downtime Into Process Expertise

To take advantage of a lull in business, JR Machine devised a week-long cutting tool event that elevated the shop’s capabilities with aerospace alloys.

Read More
Holemaking

How Lowering Torque Improves Tapping Tool Life

Escaping the tap breakage trap requires a long look at torque and the many factors that influence it.

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MWI
Starrett W9400 Touch Screen Indicator
Pat Mooney Saws
Techspex
IMCO

FAQ: Holemaking

What Are Carbide Coatings?

Most modern carbide inserts and solid carbide tools are coated with a thin film (between 3 and 20 microns, or 0.0001 to 0.0007 inch). The coating is typically composed of titanium nitride, aluminum oxide and titanium carbon nitride layers. This coating increases the hardness and creates a heat barrier between the cut and the substrate.

Source: Choosing Your Carbide Grade: A Guide

What is a counterbore?

Counterboring is a machining operation that will enlarge an existing hole’s diameter to a specified depth. Traditionally, counterboring is done with either a special counterboring tool that has a pilot, or it is done with an end mill. In either case, the diameter of the tool (end mill or counterbore) must match the diameter that is counterbored.

Traditional counterboring is great for smaller holes, but as holes get larger, the cutting tools get more expensive.

Source: Custom Macro To Helically Mill A Counterbore

What is countersinking?

A countersink is a functional surface upon which a fastener head bears. Because fastener performance is so important, countersink tolerances are critical.

Source: Gaging Countersunk And Chamfered Holes

What is a chamfer?

Hole chamfers are usually specified simply to make it easier to insert a screw, pin, bushing, or other assembly component. The component doesn't bear on the chamfer, so diameter and angle tolerances are usually not critical to the part's performance.

Source: Gaging Countersunk And Chamfered Holes

VERISURF
DANOBAT
JTEKT
715 Series - 5-axis complete machining
GWS Tool Group
Horn USA