Drill

A drill is capable of forcibly aspirating and discharging chips to prevent environmental contamination as well as to simplify cleaning the chips. The drill has an intake hole and an opening formed therein so that the aspiration takes place through the intake hole and the chips generated in the cutting process can forcibly be aspirated from the opening. Because the chips can be discharged without using cutting fluid, the drill is useful for preventing environmental contamination. Moreover, as the chips are forcibly aspirated from the opening and discharged through the intake hole, the chips are not scattered around a workpiece under the cutting process and cleaning the chips can become simple and easy.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to drills; and, more particularly, to a drill capable of forcibly aspirating and discharging chips to prevent environmental contamination as well as to simplify cleaning the chips.

BACKGROUND ART

A typical cutting process utilizes cutting fluid to discharge chips generated in the process. Among drills in the past that discharge the chips with the aid of the cutting fluid, there is a drill having an oil hole formed in a body for circulating the cutting fluid and a hole in communication with the oil hole, wherein a top end of the communication hole is opened into a chip discharge groove.

According to this drill, the cutting fluid having passed through the oil hole is discharged into the chip discharge groove from the communication hole and is guided along the chip discharge groove until it is eventually discharged therefrom to the outside together with the chips.

Meanwhile, there is a drill capable of discharging the chips without the use of the cutting fluid. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. S57-89511) discloses a drill having a chip discharging hole formed inside the body and an outlet port formed in communication with the chip discharging hole, wherein a top end of the outlet port is opened into a periphery of the body.

According to this drill, as the body of the drill starts rotating, newly generated chips entering the chip discharging hole slowly pushes out the old ones that had already circulated along the chip discharging hole through the outlet port.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

However, the cutting fluid in general contains toxic substances such as chlorine or phosphor, so frequent use of the cutting fluid is one of leading factors of the environmental contamination.

In addition, since the drill according to Patent Document 1 is able to discharge the chips only through a rotational force of the body, the chips scatter all around a workpiece to be done during the cutting process, thereby making it harder to clean them.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a drill capable of forcibly aspirating and discharging the chips to prevent environmental contamination as well as to simplify cleaning the chips.

Means for Solving the Problems

For achieving the object, the first aspect of the present invention is a drill having a front end and a rear end, comprising a body at the rear end, a cutting point at the front end with a cutting edge which is integrally extended to the body, and a plurality of grooves (flutes) formed in the cutting point and the body for composing a rake face of the cutting edge, and cutting a workpiece with the cutting edge when rotating about a center. An intake hole is extendedly formed inside the body and the cutting point from a rear end of the body to the cutting point. The intake hole has a circular cross-section and has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the body and larger than a bottom diameter (core diameter) of the groove and has an opening which is open from the groove towards the outside, where the bottom diameter is a diameter of a cylinder tangent to the grooves at the deepest point of each of the grooves. A front end of the opening at the top end of the cutting point is positioned within a longitudinal range of the cutting edge, and an aspiration process is carried out through the intake hole with use of negative pressure, thereby aspirating chips generated during the cutting of the workpiece from the opening.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the drill according to the first aspect of the invention, the diameter of the intake hole is 65% or less of the diameter of the body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the drill according to the first and second aspects noted above, a length of the opening towards a direction of the center axis is in a range from 50% to 150% of the diameter of the body.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the drill according to one of the first to third aspects noted above, the groove is extendedly formed at least to the range of the cutting edge and has an extended such that a distance between a rear end of the opening and a rear end of the groove is shorter than the diameter of the body.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

Since the drill according to the first aspect of the present invention has an intake hole and an opening formed therein, aspiration takes place through the intake hole and the chips generated in the cutting process can forcibly be aspirated from the opening.

Because the chips can be discharged without the use of the cutting fluid, the present invention drill is useful for preventing environmental contamination, also, the processing expense can be cut down by not using the cutting fluid.

Moreover, as the chips are forcibly aspirated from the opening and discharged through the intake hole, the chips are not scattered around a workpiece to be done and cleaning the chips can become simple and easy.

Compared with a drill in the past which exerts no compulsive force and allows newly generated chips to slowly push out old chips, the present invention drill demonstrates an improved discharge performance by preventing the intake hole from getting clogged with the chips.

Furthermore, since the opening is formed on the groove and the chips are aspirated from the opening, the groove for accommodating the chips can be formed to have a smaller accommodating space, for example, the length of the groove can be shortened, the width of the groove can be narrowed or the depth of the groove can be reduced. In this manner, it is possible to ensure high rigidity for a tool and the tool life can be prolonged. Further, an end portion of the opening at the top end of a cutting point is located within a range of a cutting edge, to therefore increase the performance of the chip aspiration. If the end portion of the opening at the top end of the cutting point is located at the top end of the cutting point, that is, if the intake hole passes through the cutting point, sufficient negative pressure is not obtained at the opening, causing an insufficient aspiration force during an aspiration process. This leads to decrease of the chip aspiration. Meanwhile, if the end portion of the opening at the top end of the cutting point is not located within the range of the cutting edge, it means that the opening is not positioned correspondingly to the range of the cutting edge. This also leads to the decrease of the chip aspiration. On the contrary, if the end portion of the opening at the top end of the cutting point is located within the range of the cutting edge, a sufficient aspiration force can be maintained. Besides, because each chip cut by the cutting edge can be aspirated within the range of the cutting edge, the performance of the chip aspiration is improved.

Also, the structure for discharging the chips is simplified by extending the intake hole from a rear end side of the body.

In addition to the benefits brought by the drill described with respect to the first aspect of the present invention, the drill according to the second aspect ensures good rigidity by designing the diameter of the intake hole to be 65% or less of the diameter of the body.

If the diameter of the intake hole is larger than 65% of the diameter of the body, the wall thickness of the body becomes thinner and the rigidity of the tool is decreased. On the contrary, if the diameter of the intake hole is 65% or less of the diameter of the body, the tool may have high rigidity and increased life.

In addition to the benefits brought by the drill of the first and second aspects noted above, in the drill of the third aspect of the present invention, the size of the opening towards the direction of a center axis is 50% or more and 150% or less of the diameter of the body, so the performance of the chip aspiration can be improved as well.

If the size of the opening towards the direction of the center axis is less than 50% of the diameter of the body, an open area of the opening is not sufficiently big enough to aspirate the chips. Consequently, the performance of the chip aspiration is decreased.

On the other hand, if the size of the opening towards the direction of the center axis is more than 150% of the diameter of the body, an open area of the opening is too big to obtain the sufficient negative pressure, causing a decrease in the aspiration force during the aspiration process. This again decreases the performance of the chip aspiration.

Therefore, by setting the size of the opening towards the direction of the center axis to be 50% or more and 150% or less of the diameter of the body, an optimum open area of the opening can be obtained and a decrease in the aspiration force can be suppressed. Naturally, the performance of chip cutting is improved.

Since the chips are not generated in areas outside the moving range of the cutting edge, the size of the opening towards the direction of the center axis should be 150% or less of the diameter of the body. In this way, the rigidity of the tool is secured without adversely affecting the performance of the chip aspiration. As a result, the tool life is prolonged.

In addition to the benefits brought by the drill according to the first to third aspects noted above, the drill of the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the groove is extendedly formed at least up to a range of the cutting edge, so any chips generated by the cutting edge is accommodated within the full range of the cutting edge. Thus, the chips holding capacity is increased and the performance of the chip aspiration can be improved.

Moreover, since the extended length of the groove, which is expressed by a distance between a rear end of the opening and a rear end of the groove is shorter than the diameter of the body, the rigidity of the tool can be secured without decreasing the performance of the chip aspiration. This consequently leads to a prolonged tool life.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS AND SYMBOLS

1: Drill2: Body3: Cutting point3a: Cutting edge4: Groove (flute)5: Intake hole5a: OpeningDb: Diameter of bodyDg: Groove bottom diameter of groove (core diameter)Dh: Diameter of intake holeO: Center axisPs: End portion of opening, the end portion being on a top side of the cutting point.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The advantages, features and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, one embodiment of a drill1of the present invention will be explained by referring toFIGS. 1(a) and1(b) in whichFIG. 1(a) is a front view of the drill1, andFIG. 1(b) is a side view of the drill1seen from arrow Ib ofFIG. 1(a).

The drill1is a tool for boring a hole in a workpiece to be processed (not shown) with use of torque translated from a processing machine (not shown). The drill has a front end (right end ofFIG. 1(a)), and a rear end (left end ofFIG. 1(a)) which is opposite to the front end. As shown inFIG. 1, the drill1is in a solid form obtained by press-sintering cemented carbide, e.g., tungsten carbide (WC), and it is composed of a body2at the rear end and a cutting point3at the front end extended from the body2. However, the present invention is not limited to the drill1made of cemented carbide, but can be made of high-speed tool steel.

The body2is held in the processing machine through a holder10(refer toFIG. 3) and as shown inFIG. 1, it has a cylinder shape with a center axis O. Moreover, a relieving surface2ais concavely formed along the outer circumferential surface of the body2.

The relieving surface2ais a part for reducing friction between the outer circumferential surface of the body2and the workpiece during the cutting process. As depicted inFIG. 1(a), it is extended to a predetermined length from a top end, i.e., a right end of the body2that is formed continuously integral with the cutting point3. In this embodiment, a diameter Db of the body2shown inFIG. 1(a) without the relieving surface2ais 6.8 mm.

The cutting point3is a part for performing the cutting process while rotating by a torque transferred from the processing machine through the body2. As depicted inFIG. 1, it is mainly composed of a cutting edge3aand a relief face3b. In addition, two spiral-shaped grooves (flutes)4are concavely formed on outer surfaces of the cutting point3and the body2, respectively.

The cutting edge3ais a part for boring a hole in the workpiece by carrying out the cutting process. As depicted inFIG. 1(a), the cutting edge3ais formed at the front end of the drill1, i.e., at a top end (right end ofFIG. 1(a)) of the cutting point3. In this embodiment, the drill1is provided with two pieces of the cutting edge3aarranged symmetrically with respect to the center axis O.

The relief face3bis a part for reducing friction between the top end of the cutting point3and the workpiece during the cutting process. As depicted inFIG. 1(a), the top end (right end ofFIG. 1(a)) of the cutting point3is formed obliquely at a predetermined relief angle. In this embodiment, two relief faces9are provided correspondingly to the two pieces of the cutting edges3a, and arranged symmetrically with respect to the center axis O.

The groove4is a part for constituting a rake face of the cutting edge3aand for accommodating the chips generated by the cutting edge3aduring the cutting process. As illustrated inFIG. 1, it is extended from the top end of the cutting point3to the relieving surface2a. In detail, the extended length of the groove4towards the body2from1(a)) of the cutting point3which is expressed by a distance between a rear (left) end of the opening5aand a rear (left) end of the groove is 50% of the diameter Db of the body2. In this embodiment, two grooves4are formed symmetrically with respect to the center axis O.

This groove (flute)4is formed by horizontally translating a rotating disk-shaped whetstone towards the rear end of the cutting point3from the top end of the cutting point3to the direction of the center axis O of the body2. Accordingly, the groove4is formed approximately in parallel with the center axis O of the body2in form of groove bottom at the top end of the cutting point3, and the shape of the groove bottom at the rear end of the cutting point3is cut out correspondingly to the shape of the whetstone, facing towards the rear end of the cutting point3. As such, a bottom diameter of the groove4becomes larger toward the rear end (upper end ofFIG. 2) of the cutting point3. Here, the bottom diameter of the groove4is also called, in the industry, a core diameter which is a diameter of a cylinder tangent to the plurality of grooves (flutes) at the deepest point of each of the grooves. In this embodiment, the bottom diameter (core diameter) Dg of the groove4at the top end of the cutting point3, which is formed, in the cross sectional view ofFIG. 2, approximately in parallel with the center axis O of the body2, is 0.7 mm.

Moreover, as illustrated inFIG. 1, inside the drill1, an intake hole5is extendedly formed along the center axis O of the body2from the rear end (left end ofFIG. 1(a)) of the body2to the approximate center within a range of the cutting edge3a.

The intake hole5, as described below, is a part for aspirating the chips during the cutting process. It has a circular cross section and its diameter Dh is smaller than the diameter Db of the body2while larger than the bottom diameter Dg of the groove4. In this embodiment, the diameter Dh of the intake hole5is 2.5 mm.

As the intake hole5has the diameter Dh which is smaller than the diameter of Db of the body2yet larger than the bottom diameter (core diameter) Dg of the groove4, an opening5awhich is open from the groove4to the outside can be formed in the intake hole5, as depicted inFIGS. 1(a) and1(b). As shown inFIG. 1(b), a diameter of the opening5ais partly the same as that of the intake hole5. However, since the opening5ais formed on the groove but not formed on the relief face3bof the cutting point3, a cross sectional area of the opening5aperpendicular to the center axis O is smaller than a cross sectional area of the intake hole5perpendicular to the center axis O.

The following will now explain in detail about the configuration of the opening5a, with reference toFIG. 2.FIG. 2is a cross-sectional view of the drill1taken along line II-II ofFIG. 1(b). InFIG. 2, the length of the body2in the direction of the center axis O is omitted.

The opening5ais a part for aspirating the chips that are generated by the cutting edge3aas the aspiration takes place through the intake hole5during the cutting process. Its end portion Ps at the top end (the lower side ofFIG. 2) of the cutting point3is positioned approximately at the center of the cutting edge3a, and the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is about the same as the diameter Db of the body2.

However, the position of the end portion Ps of the opening5aat the top end of the cutting point3is not limited to a point approximately at the center of the cutting edge3a, but preferably included within the range of the cutting edge3a. In detail, if the end portion Ps of the opening5aat the top end of the cutting point3is located at the top end of the cutting point3, that is, if the intake hole5passes through the cutting point3, the sufficient negative pressure is not obtained at the opening5a, thereby causing the aspiration force during the aspiration process to become insufficient. As a result, the performance of the chip aspiration will be deteriorated.

On the other hand, if the end portion Ps of the opening5aat the top end of the cutting point3is not located within the range of the cutting edge3a, it means that the opening5ais not positioned correspondingly to the range of the cutting edge3a. This also deteriorates the performance of the chip aspiration.

Therefore, by setting the end portion Ps of the opening5aat the top end of the cutting point3to fall within the range of the cutting edge3a, decreases in the aspiration force can be avoided. Also, because each chip cut by the cutting edge3acan be aspirated within the range of the cutting edge3a, the performance of the chip aspiration is improved.

The open length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is not limited to the diameter Db of the body2, but can be any length between 50% and 150% of the diameter Db of the body2. That is to say, if the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is less than 50% of the diameter Db of the body2, an open area of the opening5ais not sufficiently large enough to aspirate the chips. Consequently, the performance of the chip aspiration will be deteriorated.

In the meantime, if the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is more than 150% of the diameter Db of the body2, an open area of the opening5ais too large to obtain the sufficient negative pressure, thereby causing a decrease in the aspiration force during the aspiration process. This again deteriorates the performance of the chip aspiration.

Therefore, by setting the length of the opening towards the direction of the center axis O to be 50% or more and 150% or less of the diameter Db of the body2, an optimum open area for the opening5acan be secured and a the decrease in the aspiration force can be avoided. Naturally, the performance of the chip aspiration is improved.

Since the chips are not generated in areas outside the moving range of the cutting edge3a, the maximum length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O can be 150% or less of the diameter Db of the body2. In this way, the rigidity of the tool is secured without adversely affecting the performance of the chip aspiration. As a result, the tool life is prolonged.

With reference toFIG. 3, the following will now explain how to collect the chips by using the drill1with the configuration described so far.FIG. 3is a cross-sectional view of the drill1held at the holder10. InFIG. 3, part of the holder10is omitted. Also,FIG. 3schematically shows the direction of movement of the chips by arrows A and B.

The drill1, as shown inFIG. 3, is attached to the processing machine (not shown) as the body2is held at the holder10. Moreover, during the cutting process, a pump (not shown) carries out the aspiration process on an internal space11that is formed inside the holder10from the processing machine side. Thus, the drill1performs aspiration through the intake hole5.

In this case, the intake hole5, as explained earlier, has the opening5athat is opened from the outside of the body2. Therefore, during the cutting process, the chips generated by the cutting edge3aare forcibly aspirated from the opening5a, as shown by the arrow A.

Moreover, as the aspiration by the pump continues, the chips having been aspirated from the opening5aare discharged through the intake hole5, as shown by the arrow B.

Next, two kinds of cutting tests using the drill1(hereinafter, they are referred to as a “first cutting test” and a “second cutting test”, respectively) will be discussed by referring toFIG. 4.FIG. 4provides the results of each test, whereFIG. 4(a) shows the result of the first cutting test andFIG. 4(b) shows the result of the second cutting test.

The cutting tests are for examining the discharge capability of the chips generated in the cutting process in which the drill1forms a hole on a workpiece under predetermined cutting conditions. The cutting tests also judges whether or not the discharge capability is affected by the aspiration rate of the chips (the ratio of newly generated chips to already aspirated chips).

The detailed specifications of the cutting tests are as follows: Workpiece to be done: JIS-ADC12, Processing Machine used: Vertical Machining Center, Cutting Speed: 98 m/min, and Processing Depth: 30 mm.

More specifically, for the first cutting test, a variety of drills, each having the intake hole5of different diameter Dh in a predetermined range (from 2 mm to 4 mm), were employed as a comparison with the drill1explained in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as the “present invention”).

For the second cutting test, the present invention and a variety of drills, each having an opening5aof different length towards the center axis O in a predetermined range (from 2.04 mm to 13.6 mm, namely, from 30% to 200% of the diameter Db of the body2), were employed.

First, according to the result of the first cutting test provided inFIG. 4(a), the present invention demonstrated 100% chip aspiration rate, which means that all chips generated in the cutting process were aspirated. Therefore, one can conclude that its discharge capability of the chips is good.

Similarly, the drills having intake holes5of 2 mm and 3 mm in diameter Dh also demonstrated 100% chip aspiration rate, respectively, which means that they also aspirated all of the chips generated in the cutting process. Therefore, each drill shows a good discharge capability of the chips.

On the other hand, if the intake holes5are set to 3.5 mm and 4 mm in diameter Dh, the drills having such holes were broken and damaged. It is considered that the excessively large diameter Dh of the intake hole5compared with the diameter Db (=6.8 mm) of the body2made the wall thickness of the body2too small, thereby losing the rigidity of the tool.

As learned from these results, it is preferably to set the diameter Dh of the intake hole5to 65% or less of the diameter Db of the body2. That is, if the diameter Dh of the intake hole5is larger than 65% of the diameter Db of the body2, the wall thickness of the body2is reduced, thereby decreasing the rigidity of the tool. Therefore, by setting the diameter Dh of the intake hole5to 65% or less of the diameter Db of the body2, the rigidity of the tool is secured and the tool life can be prolonged.

Moreover, according to the rest of the second cutting test provided inFIG. 4(b), the present invention demonstrated 100% chip aspiration rate, capable of aspirating all chips generated in the cutting process. In other words, the present invention had a good discharge capability of the chips.

Similarly, when the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is set to 3.4 mm and 8.16 mm, respectively, namely, 50% and 120% of the diameter Db of the body2, the drills with such openings demonstrated 100% aspiration rate of the chips. This means that they also aspirated all chips generated in the cutting process. Therefore, each had drill shows a good discharge capability of the chips.

In contrast, when the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is set to 2.04 mm and 13.6 mm, that is, 30% and 200% of the diameter Db of the body2, the drills with such openings were broken and damaged.

It is believed that if the open length of the opening5atowards the center axis O is set to 2.04 mm (this corresponds to 30% of the diameter Db of the body2), the ratio of the open area of the opening5ato the chips generated in the cutting process is not sufficiently large enough to aspirate the chips from the opening5a, only causing an increase in the cutting resistance.

In addition, if the length of the opening5atowards the direction of the center axis O is set to 13.6 mm (this corresponds to 200% of the diameter Db of the body2), the open area of the opening5ais too large so that the rigidity of the tool has been lost.

As learned from these results, it is preferably to set the open length of the opening5atowards the center axis O to a range from 50% to 150% of the diameter Dh of the body2.

In short, because the drill1of this embodiment has the intake hole5as well as the opening5atherein, the chip aspiration easily takes place through the intake hole5and the chips generated in the cutting process are forcibly aspirated from the opening5a.

Because the chips can be discharged without the use of the cutting fluid, the drill of the present invention is useful for preventing environmental contamination. Also, the processing expense can be reduced by not using the cutting fluid.

Moreover, since the chips are forcibly aspirated from the opening5aand discharged through the intake hole5, the chips are not scattered around a workpiece and cleaning the chips can become simple and easy.

Furthermore, since the opening5ais established on the chip discharge groove4and the chips are aspirated from the opening5a, the groove4for accommodating the chips can be formed to have a smaller accommodating space, for example, the length of the groove can be shortened, the width of the groove4can be narrowed or the depth of the groove4can be reduced. In this manner, it is possible to ensure high rigidity of the tool and the tool life can be prolonged.

Also, the structure for discharging the chips is simplified by extending the intake hole5afrom a rear end side of the body2.

In addition, as the groove4is extendedly formed from the top end of the cutting point3to the relieving surface2awithin the range of the cutting edge3a, any chip generated by the cutting edge3acan be accommodated within the full range of the cutting edge3a. Thus, the chip holding capacity is increased and the performance of the chip aspiration can be improved.

Furthermore, since the extended length of the groove4, from the cutting point3towards the body2which is expressed by a distance between the rear (left) end of the opening5aand the rear (left) end of the groove4is shorter than the diameter Db of the body2, the rigidity of the tool can be secured without decreasing the performance of the chip aspiration. This consequently increases the tool life.

Although the exemplary embodiment adopted a spiral-shaped groove4, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the groove4may have an approximately linear shape in parallel to the center axis O of the body2.

Although the exemplary embodiment adopted two pieces of cutting edges3aand the rake face of each has two grooves4formed thereon, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, three pieces or more cutting edges3amay be employed and the rake face of each may have three or more grooves4formed thereon.

Although the exemplary embodiment explained the integral formation of the cutting edge3aat the cutting point3, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the cutting edge3amay be detachably formed at the cutting point3by throw-away tip to therefore manufacture a throw-away drill. In this case, the tool life can be prolonged simply by replacing the tip.