TOOLTALK Annular Cutters Overview Designed to cut holes in steel, annular cutters are often used on piping and tubing. Some prefer them over twist drills because of time and energy savings. Minimal swarf production, they create accurate burr-free holes. Avoid Broken Cutters •Cutters can break due to low feed rates. Using a firm, steady feed pressure will maximize performance and tool life. •Cutters can break due to a lack of coolant or cutting oil, which allows the cutter to overheat and break. •Cutters can break sideways from not being tight enough, which causes movement at the cutting head. •Cutters can break from the cutter being worn and applying too much force. Pilot Pins Used to set the location that will be cut, these pins slide through the center of the annular cutter. They guide a steady flow of cutting fluid to the cutting edges, and they eject the slug when the cutter completes the hole. Annular Cutter Anatomy Flutes (Remove Chips) Cutting Teeth (Angles Do Cutting) Flats (Hold Cutter) Shank Types of Annular Cutters HSS (High-Speed Steel) Heat resistant in high speed drilling. Can be treated with coatings. Most common option and used for a variety of materials. Cobalt Maintains sharpness at high temperatures. Used on stainless steel and other hard materials. Carbide Tip Longer tool life in harder materials. Use higher RPMs for better tool life. Ideal for aluminum, cast iron, copper, brass, bronze, plastic, steel, and titanium. Cutting Teeth More precise angles increase tool life and accuracy. The angles on the cutting teeth can determine how the tool performs. Cutter Size Depth and diameter determine cutter size. When choosing a cutter, extra depth is ideal. It ensures the ability to drill through workpieces and leaves length for resharpening. Diameter Depth Standard vs. Stack-Cut Geometry Most annular cutters use standard geometry. They are designed to cut through one piece of steel. Stack-cut geometry is used when drilling two or more stacked pieces of material. Looking for Metalworking Tools? Contact Fastenal at 844.365.8665 or cuttingtoolsupport@fastenal.com Go to fastenal.com/metalworking for previous Tool Talks WF_84366 JP 2/20
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