When you machine stainless steel you are generating high temperatures explained scott turner marketing manager holemaking seco tools.
Drilling stainless steel speed.
When drilling stainless steel you need to slowly drill to permit the drill bit to find its own working speed.
You should use a cutting speed chart to ensure you drill in the most efficient manner possible.
When drilling deep holes reduce the speed and feed as the drill moves into the metal.
What stainless tends to do is work harden fairly quickly when heated and drilling at high speed creates a lot of heat.
200 500 rpm.
120 225 rpm.
95 195 rpm.
2 1 16 to 2 3 8 in.
There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier.
When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill.
I set my drill press to its slowest speed or run my portable drill as slow as the trigger will allow.
Certainly of all the metals out there stainless steel is the one that seems to cause most problems for people when it comes to drilling.
Drill bit cutting speeds are very important in the drilling of metals.
In solid carbide drills microcracks can form on the cutting edges which will eventually cause the drill to fail.
Many people have drilled holes into plain old steel with satisfactory results.
Because so many people ask how to drill through stainless steel we decided to dedicate a page to this topic.
For through holes the best bet may be an annular cutter.
300 700 rpm.
Drilling through stainless steel is much like drilling through any other type of metal but with a few key differences.
Drilling machines with continuous speed change control are better than stepped or discrete speed change gear boxes for drilling stainless steel.
175 315 rpm.
Start with a sharp drill and have it turning as slowly as your drill or drill press will allow.
1 1 4 to 1 9 16 in.
200 400 rpm.
1 5 8 to 2 in.
Drill speed becomes increasingly important when drilling harder metals.
Cranking a 2 indexable drill through 300 series stainless steel takes 8hp for example.
200 450 rpm.
In high speed steel hss drills this heat will cause the tool to lose its hardness.
300 600 rpm.
2 7 16 to 3 in.
Using high speed drill bits or better is mandatory.
7 8 to 1 3 16 in.
You should carefully balance the pressure that you apply.
We have produced speed and feed charts for both metric and imperial drill bit sizes.
11 16 to 13 16 in.
There are two good alternatives depending on whether you need a through hole or a blind hole.
80 150 rpm.
Here is the right way to drill stainless steel.
Too much friction may cause your drill to overheat and if this happens you may ruin your drill and the stainless steel.
There are basically two factors that you must carefully balance when drilling stainless steel namely.
Drill bit cutting speed.
Excessive speed however is a major cause of drill breakages.
