Fdrill Uses Friction Heat to Drill
Fdrill process uses friction heat to drill through sheet metal, no nuts or bosses needed.
The Fdrill process uses a special carbide tip to drill through thin materials such as sheet metal by friction, removing the need for nuts and bosses and cutting costs in half compared to traditional connecting methods. Although the Fdrill process goes back several years in Europe, it is seen as an innovation in North America. Veteran machinists at trade shows are amazed at the simplicity of the demonstrated assembly process and think back about all the nuts and bosses they welded over the years. Some even refer to the wasted time and costs they could have avoided.
The Fdrill process is so simple it is elegant. It involves a carbide conical tip (Fdrill) that heats up the material by friction into a super-plastic state enabling the Fdrill to push through and form the hole and displace the material into a bushing that generally triples the material thickness. This additional wall surface is then threaded, eliminating the need for welded nuts, bosses or inserts. This bushing is also used as support for brazing or as a bearing wall in rotating shaft applications. It can be used on most drill presses, milling machines or CNC systems. The only parts required are a tool holder, a collet and the Fdrill. Each Fdrill will perform from 8,000 to 10,000 cycles in mild steel, a little less in stainless steel, more in aluminum and copper.
This will become the preferred drilling method because of its demonstrated ability to reduce costs from 50% to 90% when compared to conventional methods. The savings come from the fact that overall cycle times are reduced and consumable costs almost eliminated. There is virtually no post-process cleanup. The joints created have exceptional torque and pull-out strength values that equal or excel the welded nut equivalents.
Fdrill has emerged as the market leader using its extensive hands-on experience as users and manufacturers of these tools. It continues to do research and development alongside with its customers, universities and independent laboratories. It combines all this knowledge and experience with a heavy investment in automation to produce the most efficient thermal drills with the lowest prices in the market.
Their automation extends into its website and the way it sells and configures the tools for each application. Check out the Wizard at www.fdrill.com. Simply enter the type of material, the material thickness, the type of thread and the diameter. A complete listing of the tools and accessories complete with the price is provided. Fdrill accepts online payments.