PCD reamers offer long tool life and productivity gains while reducing secondary operations

It is widely acknowledged within the manufacturing industry that PCD tools deliver excellent results when reaming nonferrous metals and abrasive plastics. Reaming with a PCD tool allows the user to ream holes faster, to tighter tolerances and produce cleaner-edge holes than is possible with carbide or HSS tooling.

In addition, by producing cleaner edges, a PCD reamer can reduce, or even eliminate, the need for secondary finishing operations such as deburring, thereby lowering overall production costs.

All images courtesy of Tool Engineering, Consulting and Manufacturing LLC.

PCD reamers provide consistent results for a longer time than their traditional counterparts, because production does not have to be periodically interrupted to change worn tools. (Note: As with HSS and carbide, PCD edges can be sharpened to extend their working life.)

For a manufacturer engaged in steady production, a carbide tool might last a few days to a week, while a PCD tool could last for months.

Experience shows that during production reaming, the extended tool life a PCD reamer provides, along with reduced secondary operations, typically results in a cost per hole that equals 20 percent of the cost per hole when a carbide reamer is used.

In addition to high-volume-production facilities, job shops can achieve savings with PCD reamers. The reason is because a tool’s effective life is measured over the total number of holes reamed, regardless of the number of separate projects involved.

PCD reamers run at significantly higher speeds than carbide ones. A carbide reamer is usually operated at about 2,500 rpm, whereas PCD reamers need to run at 8,000 to 12,000 rpm to work effectively. In fact, PCD will actually produce lower-quality results when run at the speeds typically used for carbide reamers.

A 4-flute, through-coolant reamer is suitable for automotive applications.