Cross Drilling for Custom Fasteners

When it comes to the manufacturing of aerospace parts and custom fasteners, cross drilling is a common technique many use to complete manufacturing. Various applications use the technique of cross drilling, such as drilling holes in crankshafts for oiling purposes and cross drilling services for brass, aluminum, copper, mild steel and plastic. The use of cross drilling is also for inserting a roll or dowel pin to transfer rotary motion, such as driving a wheel, engaging a clutch, cam or other mechanical connection.

Basically, cross drilling is the drilling of a round hole through the middle of a round bar. This is difficult, because it takes precision to drill on a round surface. It is necessary to use the right tools in this process, otherwise the whole manufacturing may not make it to completion. The main problem with cross drilling is that if the round workpiece is placed in a vice on an x-y fitting it seems so easy to move the workpiece until the tip of the center drill appears to be at the very center of the workpiece. Then once the use of the drill bit is in play, you will not find out if the hole is off center until after the drilling is complete.

Generally, cross drilling is a simple, but limited method. It is limited because suppose the workpiece is being held horizontally in a vice. Then a piece of round material the same diameter of the rod being drilled is fitted in the chunk of the drill. The vice is then moved so that when a ruler is placed along the side of the piece of material in the chunk it then just touches the side of the material in the vice.

Benefits of Cross Drilling

There are nice benefits of using cross drilling for the manufacturing of custom fasteners. Let's take a look at these benefits.

• It can help to pull brake dust away from the pads, which then improves the grip and reduces the energy needed to stop the vehicle.
• Cross drilling provides a way for gas to escape from the brake pads, which then prevents gassing out or outgassing that lowers the brake efficacy.
• It can increase the surface area of the disc, which help in the cooling of the disc.
• Cross drilling allows an operator to drill and produce a well that covers more than one unit, which potentially increases the efficiency and will reduce costs.

How Does Cross Drilling Affect the Structural Integrity of the Rotors?

Cross drilling can affect the structural integrity of the rotors by creating stress-riser, which leads to crack propagation from the drilled holes. This may reduce the lifespan and reliability of the rotors, especially under heavy load or high temperature conditions. The use of cross drilling also reduces the mass of the rotors, which lowers their heat capacity and resistance to warping. When it comes to cross drilling, it needs to be done carefully and with proper chamfering and radius of the hole edges to minimize the risk of cracking.

Crossing Drilling and Tapered Pins

Precise cross drilling is needed when a handle is to be held onto a shaft with a tapered pin. Of course, the tapered pin has the property that it will not fall out. However, it can incorrectly give the impression that the hole in the handle and the hole in the shaft will only ever be mated together one way round. And generally, there may be times when it is useful to put the handle on the other way round. Using a cross drill accomplishes these aspects.

Cross Drilling Jig

The better way of being sure that the hole is in the center is by using a cross drilling jig. Most of these jigs are based on the fact that a round object is being placed in a symmetrical V-shape then the center of the round piece lies above the vertex of the V. The only requirement is something to guide the drill bit. You do this by fitting the piece over the V. It has a hole in it to take either a part used to set it up or a part to take a drill bit. It then holds onto the bottom part using two slots, which means it can later be adjusted.

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