Finely finished flutes: Drilling Performance

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END USER: Form Tool Technology Inc., (803) 788-3686, www.formtooltech.com. CHALLENGE: Polish flutes of drills and other round tools to enhance chip evacuation. SOLUTION: Diamond-abrasive polishing wheels. SOLUTION PROVIDER: 3M Abrasive Systems Div., (866) 279-1288, ext. 1258, www.3m.com

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Courtesy of Form Tool Technology

When Form Tool Technology replaced manual polishing of drill flutes with a CNC polishing process using Trizact diamond polishing wheels from 3M, the shop was able to save time, maximize consistency of results and incorporate tool polishing in its lights-out production strategies.

When manufacturing and reconditioning round cutting tools, Form Tool Technology Inc., Elgin, S.C., blends advanced technology with customer-focused responsiveness. Describing the company founded by his parents 41 years ago, President Michael Robbins said: “We see ourselves as a state-of-the-art, high-tech company living within a service-oriented culture. We don’t have to go through 12 different engineers to get a change made. We are flexible with our customers, and they recognize that.”

Form Tool Technology regrinds round tools and makes some standard endmills and drills, but primarily produces specials at its facilities in South Carolina and York, Pa. “Our main focus is meeting tolerances within 10µm in diameter and length,” Robbins said, adding that diameters range from 2mm to 32mm.

The nature of custom toolmaking dictates varying production volumes. “Some jobs are six pieces, some are 600,” Robbins said. Typical turnaround for a special is 2 to 4 weeks, but, in some cases, the company reduces that to a few days when a customer needs the tools to maintain production. Unattended machining helps facilitate a quick response to customer needs. “We do a lot of lights-out grinding,” Robbins said. “We have robotics incorporated on our machines, and we set up pallets of tools at night to run unattended.”

One example of the toolmaker’s continual efforts to fulfill specific customer needs is its flute polishing capabilities. About 5 years ago, the company began polishing drill flutes to enhance chip evacuation. “Some of our customers are drilling aluminum, which is gummy and has a tendency to adhere to the carbide,” Robbins said. “By having a better finish on the flutes, chips don’t seem to stick quite as much on the face of the tool.” He added that polishing can enhance adherence of tool coatings, and a polished surface is more aesthetically pleasing than an unpolished one.

Initially, the shop polished tools manually. “We bought a sheet of shoe leather, put it through a process to harden it and cut it into the shape of a grinding wheel,” he said. “We mounted the wheel on a manual grinding machine, put a lapping compound on it and ran the flutes of the tool through the wheel.”