Which Drill Bit Material do your Prefer?

[Jason @ CPM Industries]

In our shop we always use Cobalt drills for cast iron and Aluminum parts.  The quantities we usually run are in the 100's.  I'm curious to see when people switch to carbide drills for longer production runs or just based on preference.

 

Thank you,

 

Jason

[Guest]

I always use/specify carbide unless there is a compelling reason not to (i.e. Some materials shrink up when you cut them - pure nickel for one). Price of the tool should NOT be the overriding factor, performance should be.

[Myth Project]

Our shop will use cobalt, HSS, powdered metal and carbide.  I personally tend to lean to the carbide because I like ripping holes without pecking and without center drilling.  Carbide drill speeds and feeds, without pecking greatly increases productivity.  Dealing with the numbers you're talking about, carbide all day buddy.  

[The Cathedral]

We use the whole spectrum depending on the job at hand; personally my go-to drill is an Iscar Sumocham indexable carbide drill. We've got damn near the entire spectrum of drill sizes they offer and I can say without any exaggeration that those things have dramatically changed our entire shop. For smaller holes we tend to use YG Dream Drills (carbide, coolant thru). Punching through stainless at 60 ipm is always fun to watch. For one-offs or low production runs we'll use a HSS drill if we have no other option because we're less worried about cycle time than making a good part. If it turns into production a carbide drill is ordered.

[jeff]

I use Guhring carbide drills for everything. If I can get away with it. 

I still have my old 114 pc drill index of hss drills that I've had for 20+ years, and I use that for when I don't have carbide in a size I need.

[Thee Awbade™]

I almost always use Carbide

[Rstewart]

I almost always Can't get management to buy me $%!#

[Jason @ CPM Industries]

Thanks For the reply's everyone.  Yeah the price of good american made carbide drill's is so cheep these days its only makes sense in most cases to go carbide.  A carbide drill distributor can sell carbide drills the same price as others sell cobalt.  

 

Thanks again.