How to make my drill bits last longer

JimDawson said:
Does the robot have a tool changer on it? How many holes need to be drilled per unit?
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Yes it has a rack 6 slots for drill bit chucks, slots 1-4 are filled but we are only using the one in slot 4 because we couldn't program the robot just right for the other 200 holes. And we are currently only drilling 8 holes per unit and that's all the 16mm bit will ever do.
 
That being the case, I would add 2 more drills. A spotting drill, and a pilot drill (maybe 6mm or so). I would use a 17mm spotting drill with a 150° point. That will also put a nice chamfer on the hole edge. Even with the tool changes it should speed up the operation.
 
The best way to make any cutting tool last longer is reduce the cutting speed FPM, 10 to 20% should be more than enough to considerably increase tool life. Also make sure you DOC and feed are appropriate, not too high, nor too low. Aim for the middle of the recommended range. Machine rigidity is also a consideration. And don't forget the correct cutting fluid for job, will always extend tool life.
 
JimDawson said:
That being the case, I would add 2 more drills. A spotting drill, and a pilot drill (maybe 6mm or so). I would use a 17mm spotting drill with a 150° point. That will also put a nice chamfer on the hole edge. Even with the tool changes it should speed up the operation.
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The largest diameter we can go is 16.025mm and the smallest is 15.88mm, so we can go that big but I can see if I can find a 16mm with a 150° point, and to @Downunder Bob point I'll be talking to Hiteco to see how they calculate the RPMs so we can get it just right.
 
The tool holder appears to take a standard ER32 collet, available from 1 to 21 mm. You should be able to use any drill bit in that range, you only need the correct collet.
 
No I mean the holes in the boxes can't be over 16.025mm and under 15.88mm, we can cut the hole anyway we like, but the customer wants the holes to be that size.
 
StevenHansen849 said:
No I mean the holes in the boxes can't be over 16.025mm and under 15.88mm, we can cut the hole anyway we like, but the customer wants the holes to be that size.
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I wasn't suggesting that you drill the hole oversize, just hit it with a spotting drill to create an on-center starting point. If you use a 17mm spotting drill, that would just debur the top of the hole with a narrow chamfer, 0.5mm max width, depending on how deep you go. The other drill bit you might try would be a 16mm, 135° split point, cobalt, stub drill. I use those all the time in aluminum (and most other materials). You might look at a CXDSS 1600AP drill bit from M.A. Ford also.
 
Would an annular type coring drill work , I think they come in carbide also .. They sure cut good for me and some have a spring loaded plug pusher . It's like a hole saw on steroids .
 
Looks like you're trying to drill a 16 mm hole through 3/8" thick aluminum on the TIG-welded on bracket. That bracket is kind of hanging out there in space with no support on the bottom side. I'm thinking you will need to support the tab from below if you are going to drill the 16 mm hole in one shot. Or try a smaller pilot drill that goes through without flexing the welded on bracket, then go for the 16 mm drill.

Bruce
 
There must be an experienced machinist left in Lansing...I would guess seeing your setup he/she could diagnose it fast, rather than deal with a bunch of our guesses. Just saying. :)
 
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