Friday, October 23, 2020

In hole-making, it is important to know the difference between Drilling, Boring, and Reaming because they all have a specific job.

Drilling is usually the first step in creating the hole, followed by boring which sizes the hole, then reaming which finishes the hole.

Drilling is defined as rotation of a drill bit on a specific surface that scrapes away material ultimately creating a hole. Drill bits are rotated using manual hand drills, powered drills, or drilling machinery. Drill bits must be stronger than the material it's scraping and are generally made with different materials such as High Speed Steel (HSS), Stainless Steel, Cobalt, Carbide, and others. Drills can be used on virtually any type of materials such as wood, metal, plastic, teeth and bone.

Boring is the process of cutting and enlarging a pre-existing hole, and usually occurs right after the drilling process. When boring a material, a boring bar is usually used. The two most main types of boring are back boring and line boring. Line boring is when the boring bar is supported on both ends and back boring is when the boring bar is supported on one end. There are several types of machines in which the boring process occurs, such as lathes, turning centers, milling machines and machinery centers, and boring machines.

Reaming, done by reamers is usually used at the end of the process where the hole needs to be smoothened and a more precise hole needs to be made. Reamers also come in different materials such as High-Speed Steel (HSS), cobalt, and carbide. They are like drills in that they can be used manually or with powered machines. Reamers come in many types depending on the application such as tapered, chucking, helical, stub, and hand reamers.

Furthermore, the Material Removal Rate (MRR) of each of these processes is different. Drilling removes the most material, followed by boring which removes less, and reaming which removes the least.