The hubs needed to be produced are made of S55C. Each hub requires the drilling of five through-holes at a depth of 12 mm, with a high precision tolerance of +/- 0.03 mm. In addition, due to the large production volume of the order and the low profit of a single piece, this customer has a strict control over the cost of its production lines.

Near the end of the performance comparison stage, the key competitor came down to be an East Asian brand machine tool builder and cutting tool company with whom the customer has a longstanding relationship. They had proposed a 2-flute carbide drill for the application.

To address the client’s challenges, OSG worked closely with a longtime machine tool partner’s engineering team to analyze the production requirements and product characteristics in depth. Working in unison, OSG and the machine tool builder jointly developed an efficient and precise machining solution for this application. They selected the BT30 and equipped it with OSG’s custom 3-flute carbide step drill AD-S-TRS-SC-GDS (EDP# UM230239). This diameter 15 mm x 60-degree drill features OSG’s original EgiAs coating that significantly improves wear and heat resistance, ensuring stable and consistent tool performance even over an extended period of high-speed processing. Additionally, the 3-flute drill design enables the tool to achieve higher machining speeds at the same rotational speeds than a 2-flute drill, effectively reducing production cycle times.

In the actual cutting trial, OSG’s custom 3-flute drill performed exceptionally well, machining steadily at a speed of 118 m/min (2,500 min^-1) and a feed rate of 1,600 mm/min (0.64 mm/rev), with a tool life of about 115 meters, which is equivalent to approximately 1,900 workpieces. The competitor 2-flute drill was used at a cutting speed of 118 m/min (2,500 min^-1) and a feed rate of 1,125 mm/min (0.45 mm/rev). Machining at the same speed, the tool life of the key competitor’s 2-flute drill was only about 80 meters, or approximately 1,300 workpieces. The processing efficiency of OSG’s custom 3-flute drill is about 40 percent higher than the competitor while tool life is also around 40 percent greater. These significant advantages make OSG’s solution superior to the competition in terms of both performance and cost.

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