drilling plastic

[Jim Colombo]

Should I use my regular drill bits for drilling in phenolic? What speed?

[pat warner]

Yes but clamp the work down. Regular point drills will self feed in some phenolics.

[Bill White]

Forstners will work as well. Keep the speed low. Pat is correct. Whatever drill bit you use, clamps will keep the blood loss down.
"If you bleed on company time, you're fired." (If you work for me.)
Bill

[Tom Walz]

Try a speed of 200 sfm and a feed of 0.005 IPR.

Avoid heat.

Powdery chips mean your feed is too slow.

Overly fast speeds result in tearing.

See the attached photo.

Play with a piece of scrap first.


Tom