How To Drill Stainless Steel Sheet

Discussion in engineers talk started by diymostthings aug 6 2012.

How to drill stainless steel sheet.

There are also other steps to drilling this material that will make the process easier. Stainless steel also known as inox steel is an alloy of steel with a minimum of around 10 5 chromium based on its mass it is known for its corrosion resistance high heat resistance and high ductility. Page 1 of 2 1 2 next diymostthings well known member. Certainly of all the metals out there stainless steel is the one that seems to cause most problems for people when it comes to drilling.

Step drilling is often recommended for thicker profiles of stainless steel to help keep swarf clear allow for good penetration of coolant into the hole and to reduce friction at the drill point. Because so many people ask how to drill through stainless steel we decided to dedicate a page to this topic. Here 39 s how to do it without scratching the stainless. But working with stainless steel can present challenges during fabrication keeping it clean and free of fingerprints and drilling through it efficiently.

Using high speed drill bits or better is mandatory. Although drilling through stainless steel is different from drilling mild steel the basic technique is much the same. Stainless is actually a relatively soft metal at least in its initial state. Many people have drilled holes into plain old steel with satisfactory results.

For drilling it s common knowledge that treating it like any other metal and applying sustained pressure until the hole is complete causes problems such as overheating and occasional breaking of the bit. Drilling into stainless steel can be tricky but it 39 s your only option when installing a soap dispenser or a filtered water faucet. These characteristics of stainless steel make it quite difficult to cut or drill. What stainless tends to do is work harden fairly quickly when heated and drilling at high speed creates a lot of heat.

The full feed and speed rates must be maintained when backing out and re entering to ensure smooth transitioning through the layer of work hardened steel that will develop as the cutting is underway. Drilling stainless steel sheet. When stainless steel work hardens it becomes very hard and extremely difficult to drill.