Using a 10-mm Dowel Drill in a CNC Router
Should work fine, but keep an eye on it. June 17, 2010
Question
Our company has a CNC Router. I need to know if it is ok to drill holes using a 10mm diameter carbide tipped dowel drill (the kind used in multidrill heads that have 10mm diameter shanks with a small flat on them)? I have a brand new 10mm collet to chuck the bit in and will orient the flat so that it tightens correctly.
Forum Responses
(CNC Forum)
From contributor A:
That should work without a problem. Just make sure that you measure the length properly.
From contributor G:
Make sure to double check your spindle speeds. I would guess that tooling isn't designed for high rpm's.
From contributor T:
I would only add that you may want to frequently inspect this set up - especially the collet to shank connection. The flat on the shank of the tool will allow more dust to enter the collet.If possible, a better solution might be a solid shank 10mm bit.
From contributor J:
Our 10mm are set up in the drill bank on our router, but we use a 15mm dowel drill with a 10mm shank with the flat on it every day with no problems.
From contributor V:
That should work fine. You might need to slow your feed rate a little or turn the air pressure up on your spindles if it pushes up.
From contributor S:
I had the same concern, so I got an adapter from one of our tooling folks. I got it for a 3/8 collet (any size is available) that adapts to a 10mm shank and locks with two set screws. It works well.
