No pilot drill required Sandvik Coromant's Corodrill DE 10 drills on a large scale

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With its M5 geometry and plug-and-play function – no pilot drill required – the Corodrill DE 10 indexable drill sets new standards in terms of time and cost savings.

It all began with the introduction of the Corodrill 870, which featured an indexable insert system that improved drilling efficiency, as Sandvik Coromant recalls. However, over time, customer requirements grew in terms of reliability, longer tool life and easier handling. The Swedish company therefore launched a development project to create a drill that could meet these requirements while also offering greater flexibility. One of the biggest challenges in today's manufacturing is the lack of expertise among many employees, according to the company. This requires high-performance tools that are easy to set up and use. The Corodrill DE10 offers exactly that.

Reliable drilling with high material flexibility

The resulting indexable drill is now intuitive to use, which is also a plus for less experienced users. It also impresses with minimal setup time and maximum output. In terms of versatility, according to the manufacturer, it can handle high-volume drilling in a wide variety of materials, including steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant superalloys, cast iron, non-ferrous materials and hardened steel. It is also said to last comparatively long even under cutting parameters that accelerate wear. At Sandvik Coromant, product development followed a structured process that ranged from conceptual designs to prototype construction and laboratory tests to field trials. Everything was done at Sandvik. This enabled the team to iterate quickly and continuously optimise the design.

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First indexable insert made with powder injection moulding

One highlight of the Corodrill DE10 is its drill body made of high-strength steel, which features a patented interface between the indexable insert and the drill body. This ensures good stability and performance. The injection-moulded indexable insert is particularly innovative and is the first of its kind from Sandvik Coromant. Powder injection moulding, which is typically used for plastics, has been adapted for solid carbide for the first time, as the company emphasises. The result is a more detailed and optimised design of the indexable insert. In addition, its corners have been reinforced to increase performance, productivity and hole quality. The result is an indexable insert that enables a long service life with consistently high drilling quality across a wide range of parameters.

Drilling optimisation with digital twins

As already mentioned above, continuous improvements and extensive testing under extreme conditions were necessary during the development of the Corodrill DE10 in order to achieve maximum durability and process reliability. Based on the findings, the geometry of the drill was fine-tuned. The feed rate was optimised, the cutting forces reduced and the drilling quality improved. Digital twins played a key role in this, as the Swedes emphasise. In virtual simulations, the drill was pushed to its limits in order to identify weak points and optimise the design. This ensured that it could later be scaled up for mass production while delivering maximum performance in the field.

User input for the ideal drill

Continuous feedback from users throughout the entire development process, from the Corodrill 870 to the final design of the Corodrill DE10, also helped with the optimisations. For example, a plastic handle with a collar set was developed for the mounting key of the interchangeable head. This not only improves handling but also safety. Therefore, although each drill box contains a standard key for the entire range, a plastic handle for the mounting key can also be ordered separately. This decision was made because some users expressed concerns about the safety and ease of use of the key during field tests. The result is a plastic handle that improves ergonomics and minimises the risk of carbide splinters. In view of this success, Sanvik Coromant is also focusing on the flat hierarchies in the development teams.

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