One-Step Drilling: ADF Flat Drill Eliminates Starter Hole

Siriruk Thammajit, OSG Thailand

Machining flat-bottom holes traditionally required the use of a drill and an end mill. The drill is used in the preliminary center drilling operation to create a start hole, followed by the use of an end mill to complete the process. Not only is the utilization of two tools costly, additional setup time is also required to exchange between tools. When machining flat-bottom holes, maintaining consistent hole quality can also be a challenge. Burrs are common problems particularly in thin plates and an unstable cutting environment.

The ADF carbide flat drill, one of OSG Corporation’s latest drilling innovations, eliminates all of the mentioned machining challenges with one-step drilling, providing manufacturers with significantly improved processing efficiency and work quality. Asia Precision Public Company Limited is one of the manufacturers who has recently leveraged the ADF’s superior performance in their production process.

Established in 1994, Asia Precision is one of Thailand’s leading precision metal component manufacturers serving customers in various industries, including automotive, camera, compressor, machinery, medical, office automation, telecommunication and aerospace. Located in Muang, Chonburi, Thailand, Asia Precision’s capabilities include cold forging, precision machining, gear making, induction hardening, anodizing, aluminum die casting, heat treatment, hot forging and component assembly. Asia Precision’s product offering ranges from cam rings, lens housings, connectors, union bearings, pistons, valves, drive shafts, flanges, brackets and pins, just to name a few.

Asia Precision has four manufacturing facilities in Thailand with an estimated total production space of 20,000 square meters and over 500 employees. The staff at Asia Precision is constantly improving production processes to generate cost savings for their customers.

The opportunity to evaluate new tooling options came about when Asia Precision was assigned with a new project involving automotive parts. The work involves the machining of electric oil pump rotor parts in S45C. Each vehicle requires a piece of the rotor part. The monthly production is estimated to be around 26,000 pieces. Each workpiece requires the machining of two slots, measured 10mm in diameter and 28mm in depth. The machining center used for this particular production is the Yamazaki Giken YM-850. Initially, Asia Precision was processing these parts utilizing a 7.5mm diameter carbide drill for center drilling, followed by another 2-flute 10mm diameter carbide end mill to complete the hole.