Effects of Bit Shape of Electroplated Diamond Tool Used for Drilling Small Diameter Holes in Glass Plate on Machining Fluid Flow and Chip Discharge

Our laboratory has been exploring the development of tools for drilling holes in glass plates, and the drilling techniques to be adopted for it. A devised tool shape that could prevent the occurrence of cracks at the exit holes achieved high quality through hole drilling of 100 holes or more using only the drilling cycle. However, crack-free drilling beyond this number of holes cannot be performed. This is due to the adhesion of the residual chip on the tool surface when the number of holes increases. Therefore, further improvement of chip discharge is needed to achieve crack-free drilling. In this report, we consider that chip discharge results from the flow of the machining fluid. To investigate the cause of chip discharge, we analyzed the flow of the machining fluid in the hole using computational fluid dynamics and the supposed chip discharge conditions. The results obtained in this study are summarized as follows. (1) In the case of a cylindrical tool, the Z-axis directional flow of the machining fluid did not occur in the hole. This is because the tool does not have bumps to agitate the fluid on the side, and the gap between the tool and the inner surface of the hole is narrow. (2) The plate side widened the gap between the tool and inner surface of the hole. Therefore, the fluid was likely to flow in the Z-axis direction in the hole. (3) For the tool with the plane side bit, the flow entered the hole from one plane side and exited the hole from the other plane side. (4) When the tool end is spherical, the Z-axis directional flow of the fluid occurs at the tool end. (5) The fluid flow of the devised tool weakened as the drilling depth increased. To improve the chip discharge performance of the designed tool, the Z-axis directional flow of the machining fluid must occur in an area deeper than 2 mm.