Description
Broach cutters, more widely known as annular cutters, are used to process holes in hardened steel and stainless-steel materials. Broach cutters outperform traditional twist drills and are commonly used in general fabrication, machining and construction. When used with a magnetic drill or press, our broach cutters can significantly reduce project or construction time, making them a great choice for producing finished and accurate holes.
TCT AND HSS CUTTERS
Our broach cutters are available in Tungsten Carbide Tipped [TCT] or High-Speed Steel [HSS].
HSS broach cutters are most common, providing good stability and regrinding characteristics. The multi-cut geometry improves performance of centering as well as removal of chips, resulting in good efficiency and longevity.
While slightly more expensive than our HSS cutters, the TCT broach cutters are suitable on various materials given their higher cutting speeds and good drilling performance. The tungsten carbide tips guarantee reduced damage of tips and better endurance, and the multi-cut geometry allows for increased chip removal and less resistance.
The diameter of our broach cutters ranges from 12mm to 50mm. Our HSS range is available with a 50mm or 25mm depth, while our TCT range is available only in a 50mm depth.
ADAPTERS
Broach cutters are generally available with a weldon or universal shank. The traditional weldon shank comprises of two flat areas for machine grub screws to tighten the broach, while the universal shank also has pin inlets. Most of our broach cutters have universal shanks, making them suitable for weldon chuck machines and quick release machines alike. If you wish to use a weldon broach cutter in a quick release system, we supply a weldon to universal adapter. Note, change adapters are not required for universal cutters.
Our broach cutters cannot be manufactured to a smaller diameter than 12mm due to the centre pin requirement. However, if your application needs a smaller diameter drilling bit, we supply a keyed chuck and adapter for operating standard twist drill bits on a magnetic drill, drill press of lathe setup. The keyed chuck and adapter are sold as one unit, though the adapter may be removed if required.
These days, customers also seek out morse taper adapters to utilise TCT or HSS broach cutters on a drill press or lathe. The ability to use our cutters in these applications reduces the need to purchase standard or traditional morse taper drill bits, and can be easily removed using a quick release system. To see a morse taper adapter set up on a lathe, check out our broach cutter gallery. Our adapters are sold in either morse taper 2 or morse taper 3 sizes.
BROACH PINS
Broach pins are also useful in aiding with centering the hole and pushing the core out of the hole. They also provide the ability to lubricate the project automatically if connected to an internal cooling set up.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The feed is the key point for hole cutting, with different feeds forming different shaped chips, determining performance of chip removal. We recommend feeds of 0.06 – 0.15mm/cycle. Decreasing the feed during the process by 1/3 can reduce damage to the cutter. Coolant or compressed air, dependent on material, can also increase the smoothness of the holes. To extend the life of our cutters, we also recommend, and supply, drilling lubricant.
We’re confident you’ll love our broach cutters because not only do they require less effort, they are more affordable and provide higher accuracy.
