Single-Lip Drill Retipping via Soldered Head Replacement

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Deep-hole drills with one-piece hard metal components face premature wear due to high stress, limiting their service life and requiring frequent regrinding, which ultimately leads to disposal, especially given the expense and ecological concerns of the materials used.

Innovation Solution

A method for retipping single-lip drills by separating the worn hard metal head from the shank and attaching a new hard metal head using a soldering or adhesive tang, allowing for a stable and secure connection, thereby extending the drill's usability and reducing material waste.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If a one-piece hard metal drill is used to meet high stress and wear resistance requirements, then the drill can withstand high loads during deep-hole drilling, but the drill head wears out and must be disposed of after limited regrinding due to the taper and length constraints

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewear resistance and hardnessVSAvoidservice life
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The drill is divided into two separate components: a reusable drill shank and a replaceable drill head. The drill head can be detached from the shank after wear, allowing the shank to be reused with a new drill head, thereby extending the overall service life of the drilling tool system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of discarding the entire one-piece drill when the head wears out, the drill head is separated and discarded while the valuable drill shank is recovered and reused with a new drill head, reducing material waste and ecological impact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #34Discarding and recovering

2Duration of action of moving object

If the drill head is reground multiple times to extend service life, then the wear resistance is maintained temporarily, but the drill head length and taper eventually prevent further regrinding, requiring disposal

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice lifeVSAvoiddrill head length
Core Design Contradiction:
Duration of action of moving objectVSLength of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

By separating the drill head from the shank, the drill head can be completely replaced rather than repeatedly reground. This eliminates the length constraint issue, as each new drill head starts with full length, allowing indefinite replacement cycles without consuming the shank length.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of repair

If a detachable connection between drill head and shank is introduced to enable replacement, then the drill head can be removed and replaced, but the connection mechanism adds structural complexity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedrill head replacementVSAvoidconnection structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of repairVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The mechanical connection between drill head and shank is replaced with a material bond (soldering or adhesive bonding). This eliminates complex mechanical fastening mechanisms while providing a secure, reusable connection that allows easy replacement of the drill head by simply bonding a new head to the existing shank.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This method significantly extends the service life of single-lip drills, conserves expensive raw materials, and minimizes ecological impact by allowing the reuse of worn drills with new heads, reducing energy costs associated with new manufacture and waste generation.

Implementation Method 1

The drill head is attached by soldering or gluing

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectSoldering: Soldering

Implementation Method 2

The drill head is attached by soldering or gluing

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectAdhesive bonding: Adhesive

Data Source

PatentEP3169466B1Method of refurbishing a single-lip drill
Publication Date: 2019.01.16 BOTEK PRAEZISIONSBOHRTECHNIK GMBH
  • EP3169466B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3169466B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3b

AI summary

A method for reloading a single-flute drill comprising a shaft (110) made of a hard metal and a drill head (120) that is connected to the shaft (110) and is made of a hard metal, is characterized by the following steps: - removing a worn drill head (120) from the shaft (110); - integrally bonding a new drill head (120) to the shaft (110).