All cutting tools will suffer fatigue over time, including drill bits. When it comes to finding the right drill bits for milling machines, especially high speed milling machines, being able to resist corrosive forces is paramount. One way to make sure that your bits can handle any task your shop might need is to buy carbide drills. These tools offer several advantages over their steel counterparts that make them the clearly superior option for manufacturing cutting tools.

Carbide is a remarkable material when it comes to producing tools. While carbide might look metallic, this is only partially the case. The actual carbide in carbide tool stock is tungsten carbide, a ceramic material with some remarkable properties. This material is roughly twice as strong and twice as dense as steel. Sadly carbide cannot do much on its own, as ceramics are susceptible to shattering under strains. In order to produce tool stock, powdered carbide has to be mixed with cobalt metal which serves as a binding material.

The resulting sintered carbide material has many properties that make it ideal for producing tools. One of the biggest advantages of carbide drills is their ability to resist heat and retain the sharpness of their cutting edges. The ability that allows metal to retain a sharp edge is heavily influenced by how the metal is heat tempered. Tempering locks the arrangement of atoms in metal’s atomic structure, but high heat can cause metals to lose their temper and shift into less ideal patterns, softening the metal.

Because carbide’s strength comes from its ceramic content, the issue of the edges softening from becoming too hot. This means that solid carbide drill bits can operate at much higher speeds and be used on herder materials like steel and cast iron without the operator having to worry about damaging their tools or their workpiece.

In addition to being tougher than your average metal tools, carbide bits are also more rigid. When a drill bit spins, it also flexes and oscillates. This is similar to how a piece of string might bow widely if spun between the palms of your hands. The effect is far less pronounced with a drill bit and can barely be observed with the naked eye, but this effect can cause drill bits to miss their mark and deflect off of your workpiece. When you buy carbide drills, you are investing in tools with less oscillation that are capable of drilling holes with significantly more accuracy.

If you are looking for a place to buy carbide drills, you can find some fantastic options at www.onlinecarbide.com. Online Carbide is an American manufacturer of high quality carbide end mills and drill bits. Their inventory of drill bits include spot drills, stub drills, and jobber length bits. All of their tools are available at manufacturer direct prices so you can find the tools that your shop needs at a great price. If you have any questions about their products, feel free to send an email to [email protected].