How to make my drill bits last longer

@StevenHansen849

Looks like you have plenty of great feedback above.
I just stopped by to say two things.....

1) Welcome to the Hobby-Machinist!

2) Please do update us with what works and does not work in your situation.

-brino
 
That is a big hole to drill with such a small arm. Fanuc literature lists it as a 12 Kg (27 Lb) payload machine, I am unsurprised that you are having problems.

http://www.flexibleautomationsupply...MIuevxk5us3AIVmISzCh36jQ_MEAAYASAAEgIVUfD_BwE

Okay so I got some better information because I checked it myself instead of hear from someone else. The robot we are using is a Fanuc R-2000iA/165F with a Hiteco QD-1F 4/12 63F NC CB Electrospindle Powertech 200 series 4 kw. We are drilling through 3/8" extruded aluminum (I am not a materials guy so I don't know if that's a thing, but I was told it was like casted). The 16mm bit is a Fullerton's solid carbide 1565 series AlumaDrill and we are spinning it at 3500 RPMs. We have tried going slower but from what I'm told the bit didn't have enough torque to go through the aluminum. The guy who coded the robot has tried peck drilling before and it didn't work (I'll have to get back to you on the detail on why it didn't work because that guy is on vacation till Monday).

The major issue is when the bit tarts to drill it cause the whole part to vibrate, we hooked up four hydraulic clamps to robots so when he process starts the clamps engage and stop the frame from moving vertically and horizontally but the part still shacks and squeels (worst than when you try to ride a pig lol). We have thought about putting more clamps but the issue with that is we ran out inputs on the bot so the clamps would have to manual. If any of you got something for to try that would be wonderful.
 
Wow! I didn't even know that was possible to drill with a robot, the fact that it works at all is impressive. The only thing I can suggest is to try reducing the feed rate along with reducing the RPM. There is normally a sweet spot that works.

For those who don't know what a Fanuc R-2000iA/165F is ( I had to do a Google search :) ):
 
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And it takes roughly 4-5 min to get each hole done.

Sounds to me like you are trying to rub a hole through the part. I put the initial hole diameter 19mm into a feed and speed calculator (https://fswizard.com/) and got 50 ipm @ 2300 rpm, that means your 38 mm hole should be drilled in about 2 or 3 seconds.

Now with the information from your latest post, 16mm, carbide bit the calculator comes up with 132 ipm 6200 rpm. Drilling 3/8 deep, that should take less than a second per hole.

WIth a 4KW spindle you certainly aren't low on power even if it's running well below its rated speed. Based on your description, your problem isn't with the spinney bits, it is a work holding issue. You can't drill a hole if you can't resist the cutting force.

You need to work on how your material is fixtured. If you can post a few pictures, I am sure someone will be able to suggest some improvements.

bob
 
One of the best uses of an arm that I have ever seen, making something new look old, brilliant.
 
So this our set up, the first and third images are the drill bit we are using and the last to images are what we are drilling. the bit is sticking out 100.5 mm and its 150 mm long. The guy who programmed the robot told me that he was going to try using a end mill to drill through 3/8 aluminum or we can try drilling a 9.5 mm hole then stepping up to a 16 mm hole. What do you guys think? Would that work?

B_Drillbit.jpgDrill_Moter+Robot.jpgDrillbit.jpgDrilled_Foot.jpgUndrill_Foot.jpg
 
Normally trying to drill with an endmill ends badly if the setup is not absolutely rigid. The endmill puts a lot of asymmetrical radial load on the system as it plunges in. Hanging on the end of a robot arm would be just about the worst case setup. If you can create a helix tool path then it may work OK. If you can create a helix plunge tool path, then use a 5/16 endmill, and interpolate the holes to size.

Given the application, I guess I might spot the holes with a spotting drill in the robot arm, then just hand drill the holes to finished size. As an alternative to hand drilling, a drill press would be a good option.

The other option would be to pre-drill the holes in the brackets, then fixture them properly to do the weldments. I really think you need to look at the overall process. Drilling the holes on a drill press or small milling machine should take less than a minute.
 
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Normally trying to drill with an endmill ends badly if the setup is not absolutely rigid. The endmill puts a lot of asymmetrical radial load on the system as it plunges in. Hanging on the end of a robot arm would be just about the worst case setup. If you can create a helix tool path then it may work OK. If you can create a helix plunge tool path, then use a 5/16 endmill, and interpolate the holes to size.

Given the application, I guess I might spot the holes with a spotting drill in the robot arm, then just hand drill the holes to finished size. As an alternative to hand drilling, a drill press would be a good option.

The other option would be to pre-drill the holes in the brackets, then fixture them properly to do the weldments. I really think you need to look at the overall process. Drilling the holes on a drill press or small milling machine should take less than a minute.

I agree with the end mill, I 've used one to drill before and it always wonders. The problem with drilling the hole before we weld the part on the whole frame is we hand weld those pieces to the frame. If one of the holes are off we won't be able to put the box together. And when it comes to the whole hand drilling or using a drill press we are trying to get away from using people so we can produce 15 boxes a day instead of 7.

Another thing we haven't tried is we could change the mist lube to flood coolant and make a big tray to catch the excess coolant, if you guy think it would be worth we could try it.
 
I don't think flood coolant would be a big help here, but getting the coolant nozzle closer to the work area might be helpful. I use kerosene in my mist coolant system for aluminum, applied at about 1/2 cup/hour. There is some fire danger but it's minimal, may not be appropriate in your enviroment. Peck drilling with a full retract would be helpful.

Does the robot have a tool changer on it? How many holes need to be drilled per unit?
 
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