Joe AutoDrill wrote: : I have a customer working in a material that sticks in the flutes of the : drill between strokes and doesn't necessarily cause problems, but could...
: They want to physically remove the material between strokes without stopping : the rotation of the tooling. I told them to try a very high pressure air : blast nozzle on the tooling but they want a physical method that runs down : the flutes, etc.
Here's an idea:
I'm picturing a simple twist bit drill bit.
Take a ball bearing with inner diameter larger than the drill bit. Place wire brushes on the inside that fits around the shank of the drill bit and into the flutes. The brushes have to be soft/flexible enough not to dull the bit, but firm enough to clean out the flutes. The collar sits on the drill bit above the work piece. The inside of the bearing is "attached" to the drill bit by the friction and pressure of the brushes, and the outside of the bearing is attached to an arm that holds it above the workpiece.
When the drill bit spins up, the inner collar spins with it, since it is not fixed to anything other than the drill bit. The brushes are stationary with respect to the spinning drill bit (spinning at the same speed). When the drill moves down into the work piece and up out of it, the brushes follow the flutes and clean out the gunk.
Let me know how this works,
--- Chip