Innovative Tool Sales

Allied Machine & Engineering

Allied Machine & Engineering offers the Opening Drill through an exclusive supply agreement with VMaxx, Inc. . VMaxx, Inc. is a U.S. manufacturing company experienced in producing high quality cutting tools.

The Opening Drill is an extremely effective tool designed to enlarge existing holes. AMEC, with VMaxx, offers the Opening Drill in 5 different shank styles; Straight, ABS 63, Cat V40 & V50, HSK 63A/100A and BT40/BT50.

AMEC continues to be a global leader in the engineering and manufacturing of replaceable drill inserts and holders. The Opening Drill product line allows AMEC to offer customers additional solutions in hole making applications, consistent with AMEC’s pledge to provide customers with “the HOLE advantage.”

      • Opening Drills Ignore Core Shift up to 1/8” for Straight and True Holes Without Boring.
      • Unique Design Enables Larger Holes to be made on Low Horsepower Machines.
      • Multi-Insert Design Reduces Chip Size for Easy Chip Evacuation.
      • Smooth Cutting Action and Quiet Operation in Lathes or Mills.
      • Replaceable Cartridge Protects Your Investment. (Indexable Insert Cartridge).
      • Adjustable Diameters Reduce Inventory and Cost.
      • Special Lengths, Diameters, and Shanks Available Upon Request.
      • Opening Drills allow for large amounts of material removal.
      • Opening Drill can be used in boring operations.
      • Can be used on rotating and stationary machine tools.

Straight Shank and ABS Opening Drill Series

CV40 / CV50 Flange Opening Drill Series

BT40 / BT50 Opening Drill Series

HSK63 / HSK100 Opening Drill Series

Operation & Set Up Procedure

• Always choose the shortest length tool to accomplish the job. Choose integral shank tools whenever possible.
• The Opening Drill must be presented reasonably on center line. Lathes with stationary tools demand discipline in setup to be positioned on center. A stationary Opening Drill must be on center line with the part within .015 total runout. AMEC strongly suggests that the turret pod be indicated from the chuck before tool mounting. Applications on a machining center will typically find their own center, but we recommend TIR to be within .005”.
•Machine considerations- An Opening Drill will generally use less or equal power to drill the pilot hole. It may be more advantageous to consider the largest drill that can be used in the machine. To enlarge a hole, using a lathe, and in the absence of a square shoulder or bottom, pull the drill back, offset it and bore with it to size.

(1) The Opening Drill has 2 diametrically opposed cartridges that are PHASED to create an overlapping cut situation in use. The tool is normally considered 1-flute effective in feed considerations.

The outside and inside cartridges are exactly the same until one or the other is selected to cut the outside or finish diameter. The other opposing cartridge would then become the inboard cartridge. In practice, and design intent of the tool, the outside cartridge would be adjusted to a specific cut dia. and the inboard, opposite cartridge would be adjusted to a smaller RADIUS by .160 to .200. (This phase difference is always considered as radius and not diameter.)

The phasing accuracy on the inboard cartridge does not require a close accuracy and anything in this range is acceptable. If a chatter condition exists and can not be corrected with feed and speed changes, some manipulation of the phase may be made to help balance the cut in the existing opening material. At no time can the phase be less than .040. This minimum phase will ensure that the non-cutting area between the inserts is covered by the overlap.

(2) It is recommended to adjust the cartridge using the side set screw pushing against the pin. After adjustment is made and mounting screws are tightened to secure the position, it is recommended that the side adjusting screw be slightly tensioned to insure a friction fit in the screw threads. After size adjustment of the cartridge, the retention screws in the front of the cartridge should be torqued to 11-14 FOOT - LBS. The side adjusting screw has been treated with an anti-vibe compound to resist screw backing out.

(3) The cutting inserts in the front cartridges are tightened and retained by an insert screw. Tighten to 15.5 IN - LBS. Use caution as to not over-tighten these screws.

(4) The cutting insert has been specially designed for this application. It has a greater thickness than a standard WCMX and special radial angles for clearance during cutting or coring. The insert pocket is a proprietary design and cannot be interchanged with other similar inserts.

(5) It is strongly recommended that coolant be used with the drill. Unlike a drill from solid, the Opening drill does not depend upon coolant to evacuate chips. By design, the drill has generous gullet space to allow the free flow of chips. It is recommended to use thru-coolant induction when it is possible, flood coolant when this is not possible. In most vertical applications, the use of flood coolant is quite adequate.

(6) The tolerance capability when using the Opening Drill is subject to several factors. The condition of the setup, the machine tool, and the condition of the existing hole to be opened, will affect the tolerance anticipated. Extreme core-shift holes will cause a slight out-of-round condition after coring.

(7) The Opening Drill can be used to core holes with 2 inserts effective if both opposed cartridges are set to the same cut diameter. However, this application will not allow an enlargement greater than .500 on diameter. In this application, the 2nd insert per cartridge will not be utilized. This 2-flute, 2-insert effective setup will allow for very aggressive feed rates.

Recommended Speeds & Feeds

The speeds recommended for AM200® coated tools are based on empirical data obtained under “Optimum Conditions.” Many applications do not exhibit “Optimum Conditions.” (Reductions in speed parameters may be required due to excessive tool wear generated in the application.)

The speeds and feeds listed above are considered a general starting point for all applications. Factory technical assistance is also available for your specific applications through our Application Engineering Team. Please have item number, hole diameter, depth, material grade, BHN hardness and coolant pressure information available when you call. Additional information such as part and machine rigidity, horsepower and thrust limits, vertical or horizontal spindle, revolving or stationary tool, flood or through holder coolant are also very helpful to our Application Engineers.