Reduce Costs, Increase Productivity

with Indexable Drilling 

It's no secret that raw material prices have been on the rise. Various forms of tungsten carbide in particular have experienced reduced production levels that have contributed to supply shortages, particularly as the economy continues to strengthen. The end result is higher carbide costs and tooling prices.

Companies have addressed this surge in raw material costs by finding new solutions that reduce the amount of carbide required to produce a finished part. Recent improvements in drill technology offers a replaceable carbide drilling tip mounted on a steel drill body.

The obvious benefit of this system arises from the cost effectiveness of paying only for a carbide tip rather than an entire solid carbide drill. Additionally, the ability to replace, or "index", a replaceable tipped drill while it's still on the spindle provides a dramatic reduction in set-up time and increased productivity. Compare that to solid carbide drills which need to be removed from the tool holder, sent out for re-sharpening and then sent to the tool room to reestablish the gage length.

Solid carbide drills are also not as forgiving in applications that require more toughness. For example, it's very important to be aligned on center when drilling on a lathe. With a solid carbide body any deviation from center will increase likelihood of a broken or chipped drill, whereas with the carbide tipped indexable drill body is made of steel making it more likely to provide some flexing characteristics while still providing the benefit of a carbide cutting tip.

While the idea of a replaceable tipped drill is not new, Ingersoll recently released the GoldTwist which offers many new features that make it even more economical to use. For example, the new pocket and clamping system has dramatically extended the number of times you can put a replacement tip into the same drill body. Also, each GoldTwist drill is PVD-TiN coated and has polished flutes that contribute to longer tool life and smoother chip flow. Additionally, each body is capable of holding multiple tip diameters up to 1 full millimeter, which provides the user with more flexibility compared to a fixed diameter, solid carbide drill. Finally, each drill features two, twisted coolant holes that provide exceptional coolant volume along with deep flutes for maximum chip evacuation.

GoldTwist tips are currently available from 10mm (.3937") to 19.9mm (.7834"). The bodies are available in 3:1, 5:1 and 8:1 L/D ratios. For more information, click here for the new product announcement. 

If you're still using solid carbide drills, now might be the ideal time to move away from the high costs and ongoing maintenance necessary to support a regrind system in favor of the most cost effective and very accurate GoldTwist product line. It's unlikely that we'll see a reprieve in raw material costs anytime soon.

Jergens Industrial Supply is an official distributor of Ingersoll Cutting Tool products. Contact us today for more information.