ADO-SUS coolant-through carbide drill stabilizes machining process and doubles tool life in pistol barrel production
Lucas Sousa do Nascimento | OSG Sulamericana
Founded in 1974, Aço Peças Demore Ltda. is a manufacturer of metal-mechanic components for a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, agricultural, military, energy, shipbuilding, and more. Employing 250 staff, Aço Peças Demore’s manufacturing plant is located in the city of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, with an estimate plant area of 20,000-square-meter.
Founded in 1974, Aço Peças Demore Ltda. is a manufacturer of metal-mechanic components for a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, agricultural, military, energy, shipbuilding, and more. Photos courtesy of Aço Peças Demore Ltda.
Recently, Aço Peças Demore was looking to improve the machining of its pistol barrel production for the military industry, which the company has been making for about three years. The pistol barrels are made of ASTM 410 stainless steel (JIS SUS410) and has an annual estimate production volume of 244,000 pieces. One blind hole at a depth of 55 mm is required to be drilled and reamed per part. The pistol barrels are machined using a Mazak Nexus 150-II CNC turning center. Soluble oil at 10 percent concentration is used for the machining.
A pistol barrel made of ASTM 410 stainless steel (JIS SUS410).
Aço Peças Demore was originally using a competitor coolant-through carbide drill with multi-layer coating for the application. However, the machining was highly unstable, with deviations in the straightness of hole and low tool life. With the occurrence of deviations in the drilling process, the reamer in the secondary operation could not guarantee the dimensional requirement of the part.
The ASTM 410 stainless steel pistol barrels are machined using a Mazak Nexus 150-II CNC turning center. One blind hole at a depth of 55 mm is required to be drilled and reamed per part.
Troubled by the poor performance, Aço Peças Demore reached out to OSG Sulamericana, a longtime partner of the company, for technical support. As a pre-hole for a subsequent reaming operation, the most important matter to Aço Peças Demore is to maintain a low deviation of less than 0.05 mm during the drilling process. Upon a detail evaluation of the machining environment, OSG recommended an 8.4 mm diameter ADO-SUS-5D coolant-through carbide drill (EDP# 8682840) for the application.
OSG’s ADO-SUS series has adopted a tool geometry that emphasizes sharpness to reduce work hardening, thereby prolonging tool life for post-processing including reaming and tapping. Its unique flute form encourages the creation of small cutting chips, which is essential for trouble-free chip evacuation. Furthermore, the ADO-SUS has employed a unique oil hole design “MEGA COOLER” for diameter sizes above 6 mm to suppress heat generation and to facilitate smooth chip evacuation. With the addition of OSG’s WXL coating, which has strong adhesion strength, high resistance against welding can be achieved. Utilizing OSG’s latest cutting tool technology, the ADO-SUS series is capable of drilling stainless steel and titanium alloy with predictable and consistent tool life, making efficient machining of difficult-to-machine materials a reality.
The competitor drill and the ADO-SUS carbide drill were tested at the same cutting speed of 80 m/min (3,033 rpm) and a feed rate of 0.07 mm/rev. The competitor drill achieved a tool life of 400 pieces whereas the ADO-SUS was able to complete1,070 pieces before retiring due to wear. With the increase in tool life, Aço Peças Demore is able to achieve a cost reduction in the manufacturing process from R$1.81 per piece to R$0.94 per piece, which is equivalent to a cost savings of R$0.87 per piece. With an annual production volume of 244,000 pieces, an annual savings of R$212,280 can be obtained. Moreover, scrapped parts caused by quality issues have been eliminated.
The ADO-SUS drill retired after processing 1,070 holes in stainless steel, more than doubled the tool life of the competitor drill.
“Before switching to the ADO-SUS, we had a high percentage of scrapped parts caused by deviations from the drilling operation,” said Aço Peças Demore Process Analyst Bruno Simon.
From left, Aço Peças Demore Process Analyst Bruno Simon and OSG Sales Technician Anderson Scalginsky pose for a photograph at the Aço Peças Demore manufacturing facility in Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil.
After implementing the ADO-SUS drill, we are able to stabilize the machining, meet the dimensional requirement and double the tool life, which resulted in significant savings in the manufacturing process, said Simon.
For more information on OSG’s ADO-SUS carbide drill series
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