Know-how

Anyone who works with sheet metal regularly is familiar with the problem: with a conventional twist drill, it is often difficult to drill clean holes in thin sheet metal – especially in aluminum or steel. The drill hole can tear out, the diameter becomes inaccurate, or the edges have to be laboriously deburred afterwards.

However, precise holes and clean hole edges are crucial in metalworking. That is why many professionals use special tools such as step drills or sheet drills.

Both tools are designed for thin sheet metal (up to 4 mm material thickness, depending on the material) and similar materials and enable precise drilling, often even without pre-drilling. Nevertheless, they differ significantly in terms of design, function, and area of application.

In this article, we highlight the most important differences and explain when a step drill and when a sheet drill is the better choice.

If you work with drilling, milling or countersinking tools regularly, you have probably heard of HSS-Co 5 or HSS-Co 8. But what exactly is the meaning behind the terms? And why do so many professionals swear by these materials?

In this article we will explain what HSS-Co 5 and HSS-Co 8 are and when it really makes sense to use them.

You have everything ready, clamped the workpiece in place, clamped the drill, but it's still not working. Your hole isn't straight, the material is fraying, or the drill starts smoking after a few seconds. There's probably something wrong with the twist drill, which can be quite time-consuming and costly to fix.

Not all twist drills are the same. It is not only the material (e.g., HSS or carbide) that is decisive, but above all the manufacturing process—ground or rolled. What exactly does that mean? And which drill is suitable for which application?

When selecting drills, countersinks, or milling cutters, many people initially focus on the material, length, or tip angle. However, one detail is just as important: the shank. It influences power transmission, grip, concentricity, and ultimately the machining result.

This article provides an overview of the most common tool shanks and their areas of application. We also show you where their strengths lie and when you need which one.

In metal cutting, choosing the right speed is crucial to achieving the best quality end product. An incorrect speed can not only affect the quality of the machined material, but also shorten the tool life. To ensure that the correct speed is selected, speed tables are an indispensable tool in metal cutting.

Basically, drilling holes does not seem to be witchcraft. Nevertheless, especially when drilling into hard workpieces, it can happen that the drill breaks and in the worst case gets stuck. Find out in this article how this may happen and how you can prevent the drill from breaking.

The use of coolants and lubricants in metal cutting is extremely important. Why this is so and the advantages of cooling and lubricating are explained in this article.

You want to drill into a steel beam and don't know which drill to use? In this article you will learn what drill to use, and what you should be aware of.

In order to manufacture drills, a tool steel is required that best meets the requirements of the application. For the production of drilling tools for metal cutting, high speed steel is used.

Countersinks differ in shape and application. For example, countersinks can be used for deburring drilled holes or for countersinking screws. How countersinks are constructed and in which applications they are used are described in this article.

You want to drill a hole in stainless steel but don't know which twist drill to use? In this article we explain how to drill in stainless steel and which twist drills to use.