Reducing operating costs is becoming more important than ever due to inflation and other cost pressures. Non-productive time during operations remains a common problem for busy shops. Thankfully, the versatile nature and benefits of multipurpose drills may be an effective solution to this problem.
Problem: Frequent Tool Changeovers
“Changeover” refers to changing a machine from running one operation to another, which often involves changing tools, adjusting machine settings, and calibrating the machine. Changeover is non-productive time and increases operating costs.
Many factors contribute to frequent changeovers. For example, working with multiple materials could contribute towards high changeover. This is because each material has different machining requirements, and many specialized drills can only work with a narrow range of materials. The time it takes to change the tool increases cycle time which can lead to high operating costs.
How can a busy shop reduce changeover when working with multiple raw materials? Multipurpose drills are the answer. If a single drill can machine multiple materials without needing a tool change, you’ve effectively reduced the number of changeovers, reducing setup time and increasing machine utilization.
What are Multipurpose Drills?
We often seek versatility in everyday items to get the most value. Tools are no different. Take, for instance, the world of athletic footwear: cross-training running shoes are optimized for universal use unlike soccer cleats, which are specifically designed for soccer.
Multipurpose drills are like cross-training running shoes because they are both extremely versatile. Multipurpose drills can operate on a wide variety of materials and can be used in a wide range of applications. This makes these drills reliable, practical, and efficient tools.
Multipurpose drills can reduce changeover for busy shops working with various kinds of materials. Reducing changeover means producing more and decreasing operating costs.
Factors to Consider Before Using Multipurpose Drills
When it comes to selecting the best cutting tools for a job, It is important to acknowledge that the success of drilling depends on many different factors such as the hole size tolerance. Many factors must be considered before choosing multipurpose drills as a solution.
Hole Size Tolerance
Consider the drilling needs of the hole to determine the most effective tool to use. Multipurpose drills are effective when used to drill small length-to-diameter ratio holes. They are also effective for pre-machining before another operation.
Size of Shop
Maintaining multiple specialized drills to operate multiple workpieces takes time and money. Shops without the budget or inventory space to accommodate many tools could benefit from the use of multipurpose tools. This is because using a multipurpose drill would save the time and money it takes to maintain, keep, and change out specialized drills.
Length of Production Run
The length of the production run is another important factor to think about when considering multipurpose drills.
For example, multipurpose drills are effective when used during short production runs of non-repeating parts. Other than the length of the production run, the batch size can help determine whether an economical or specialized drill is needed.
Machine and Setup
The machine and its setup are important to determining the effectiveness of multipurpose drills during the drilling process.
For example, when working on a lathe, the drill could become misaligned over time because it is stationary. The misalignment would negatively impact production in the future by reducing the accuracy of future drilling operations.
4 Benefits of Multipurpose Drills
While there are many factors to consider, there are many benefits to using multipurpose drills in your machining process:
- Cost-Efficiency: By cutting down changeover time, multipurpose drills reduce cycle time and overall costs.
- Versatility: Because of their broad range of applications, multipurpose drills can be used in a variety of materials.
- Compatibility: Multipurpose drills are highly compatible with different machine setups.
- Availability: A variety of multipurpose drills are available to suit the needs of any shop or job and many unique machining requirements.
When applied correctly, the advantages of multipurpose drills have strong potential to reduce costs and increase operational efficiency.
1. Cost-Effective
In general, multipurpose drills provide a cost-effective solution by reducing the cycle time caused by changeover.
For example, Multi-DRILL from Emuge is a multipurpose drill that provides a high-performance drilling solution at an affordable price. It reduces cycle time by creating short, consistent chip formations. These formations reduce changeover, which increases the overall efficiency of cycle times.
2. Versatile Performance
Multipurpose drills, such as the CoroDrill 460 from Sandvik Coromant, are optimized for use in multiple industry sectors because of their broad application area.
For example, the CoroDrill 460 has a point angle of 140 degrees that is optimized for multi-application drilling. This is a great example of how multipurpose drills can be suitable for many drilling applications.
Since every workpiece is unique, the ability to work with such a wide range of materials makes multipurpose drills versatile.
3. Easily Compatible
The variation of multipurpose drills also makes these tools highly compatible with different machine setups.
For example, the DC150 solid carbide twist drill from Walter Titex provides universal application and can be used with and without internal cooling.
The many different types of multipurpose drills make this solution viable and easy to implement.
4. High Availability
Multipurpose drills are highly available as they come in many different variations, all to fit the unique requirements of the shop and the job. Since the success of drilling depends on many factors, the accessibility of multipurpose drills covers many unique machining requirements.
In addition to the aforementioned offerings from Emuge, Sandvik Coromant and Walter Titex, one should also consider multipurpose drills from our Supplier Partners Dormer Pramet and Garr Tool.
Multipurpose Drills Can Reduce Operating Costs
The world of machining is very complex. This is because each workpiece and shop have varying machining requirements.
With so many variables and factors to consider, the solution to decreasing operating costs is not always clear. After all, there are many other factors and benefits to consider when using multipurpose drills.
At Triumph Tool, our team is ready to offer you technical support. Our team of highly experienced representatives always strives to provide the best solutions. Using our “Good, Better, Best” system, our team focuses on finding the perfect solution for your shop and job. We have your drilling requirements covered with our vast selection of products and unsurpassed technical support.
Contact us today, and let us help you find the most fitting solution for your application.
References
Dormer Pramet Solid Carbide Drills
Emuge Multi-DRILL
Garr Tool High Performance Solid Carbide Drills
Sandvik Coromant CoroDrill 460
Walter Titex DC150