To meet growing demand from the aerospace sector for reliable and efficient hole making technology in composite materials, cutting tool and tooling systems specialist, Sandvik Coromant is launching its specially designed CoroDrill® 854 and CoroDrill® 856. Released as part of the company's CoroPak 10.1 new product introductions, CoroDrill 854 and CoroDrill 856 were developed to withstand the harsh demands of the latest CFRP materials and aluminum stacks, offering long and consistent tool life to meet tight tolerances time after time.

Producing holes in various carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) demands unique geometries to achieve hole tolerance and quality, as delamination and splintering are common problems. Combining CFRP with a stacked material such as aluminum adds another dimension as the two materials vary in machining techniques.

The geometrical shape of CoroDrill 854 is designed to improve hole entrance and hole exit quality on high fiber content materials. Correct selection is critical to successful composite hole making: CoroDrill 854 is preferred where splintering or fraying is the problem, while customers will find more benefit with CoroDrill 856 if delamination is proving to be the difficulty in resin-rich materials.

Producing holes in high resin materials is optimized by the geometry design of CoroDrill 856. Small point angles and high rake angles help to improve hole quality as well as reduce axial forces, which is particularly critical on thin-walled surfaces. Both CoroDrill products help with the elimination of burrs and the enhancement of surface finish.

Offering customers a choice of diameters from 0.157 in (4 mm) up to 0.500 in (12.7 mm), the standard N20C solid carbide versions with diamond coating are available as stocked items. Options are also available upon request through our Tailor Made service, providing the freedom to specify your own dimensions without having to pay the price of a special tool.

Typical aerospace applications for CoroDrill 854 and CoroDrill 856 include wing box and structural airframe components.