Drilling diagnostics
How to use drilling diagnostics
Click the symptom button, specify the hole diameter and depth, material, drill type, coolant and runout - the tool will determine the likely causes and provide corrective steps in order of priority.
12 symptoms: drift / taper / ovality / roughness / burr at exit / chip clogging / overheating / rapid wear / edge chipping / drill breakage / whistling and vibration / built-up BUE.
Why does one problem have several causes?
In drilling there is rarely just one cause of a problem. Hole slippage is simultaneously a bad entry (no spot-drill), runout >0.01 mm and unsuitable tip geometry. Drill failure is the result of accumulated overheating, chip jam and weak clamping together.
Diagnostics works on the principle of “one parameter at a time”: eliminate the first cause on the list, evaluate the result, then move on to the next one. Randomly replacing everything at once does not make it clear what helped.
The three most common causes of drilling problems
Tool runout. Runout >0.01 mm is present in the causes of most symptoms - slip, ovality, chips, vibrations. The reason is a worn cartridge, cone contamination, incorrect type of clamp. Solution: hydraulic chuck or shrink-fit for carbide, ER collet for HSS; Always check the runout with an indicator.
There is no entry chamfer. The drill does not start cutting at a point, but “floats” along the surface. Spot-drill eliminates slip in 5 seconds and extends the service life by 1.5–2 times - especially on inclined surfaces and intermittent entry.
Insufficient cooling at L/D > 8. External coolant supply does not reach the cutting zone during deep drilling. The chips heat up, sinter in the grooves, and the drill breaks. For L/D ≥ 8, through-tool coolant or HPC is required - external flood does not replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The drill is broken, but there are no visible reasons - what to check? Check procedure: runout in the chuck → type of cooling (internal at L/D ≥ 8) → cycle (G83 with blind or L/D > 10) → feed (not too high?) → chips (was there evacuation?).
Burr at the exit of a through hole - how to eliminate it? Reduce the feed to the last 1–2 mm before exit (30–50% of the main one). Place support material on the exit side. For aluminum and stainless steel, use a sharp geometry with a positive rake angle.
Built-up edge BUE - what is it and why does it appear? Build-up edge - adhesion of workpiece material to the cutting edge. Characteristic for aluminum, stainless steel and mild steels at low speeds. Solution: raise Vc, sharp geometry, TiN/AlTiN or DLC coating for aluminum.
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