Drilling 0.005" hole

mkd said:

are talking about drilling ceramic ferrule material?

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Strostkovy said:

I'm getting into fiber optics and would like to make a ferrule with a 125 micron hole (0.005" or so) for coupling the fibers. Once secured in the ferrules the fiber will be cut and lapped flush, and mated to an emitter or detector. The ferrule itself is drilled out in the back to fit a rubber bushing that squeezes the fiber in place when a collar secures the ferrule. So the actual portion that the tiny hole needs to be drilled through can be very thin.

I have no experience drilling holes this small and am not sure if it can even be done with a regular mill or lathe or even what approach to take.

The reasoning for wanting to make these instead of buying regular fiber connectors is primarily size and somewhat cost, since I am trying to couple fibers on a 0.1" spaced array.

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newtonsapple said:

Aluminum is going to be way easier than stainless if it works for you.

How deep do you need to go? Is straightness important?


I think .007” is the smallest I have done personally on manual equipment. At this small, I just rely on the DRO. The enemy as you get deep tends to be chips loading the flutes. Peck drill and watch the flutes under magnification on retract. Figure out the peck depth you can run without packing the flutes. Then just watch the DRO, pay attention to where you are so you don’t “crash” into the cut. As you get deep, I might check that the drill is clean on every retract. It’s slow going, but not too bad in aluminum. Run 7075 or similar if you can as the chips are much nicer.

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rogertoolmaker said:

Could this be done with Laser or EDM? I have done some fine parts using EDM for a Plainer Triode Electron Tube with wagon wheel and ,005 spokes. It was so small you couldn't see to wheel spokes without an eye piece.
Its a whole different ball game with a hole this small.

All The best
Roger

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Screwmachine said:

If this is cnc don't fret over not having a million rpm, the surface speed at these small diameters is less important than chipload. A spot drill would be helpful, and in stainless at this diameter I would shoot for a chipload of 0.0015mm to start. Depending on your drills and the alloy (and batch) you might need to go up to avoid workhardening or down to avoid premature breakage.

Avoid chip packing as above, and if stainless be careful of dwelling at the start of or leaving a peck.

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implmex said:

Hi Strostkovy:
You will not get a clean entry: with an 0.005" drill no matter what you do...you can get it "pretty good" but that's a relative term.
To center pop a hole like that, I just make a HSS point and center punch with it on the CNC...no need to rotate the point for such a small dimple.
You have the best chance to get it where you want it and get it the correct diameter by punching with a stationary point, and HSS is better so you don't fracture off the tip and leave it behind in a dimple somewhere.

If you are free to pick your steel...I would use 303 stainless or Leadloy if you can.
Don't use something awful to drill like 304 or 17-4 PH.

Another thought: what is the minimum thickness the material needs to be in order to support the fiberoptic fiber properly with a parallel sided 0.005" hole?
I ask because if the answer is "Zero", you could theoretically take say a 20 degree pointed cutter and poke it through from the back so you end up with a tapered hole that's the correct diameter at the tip.
You could also drill everything from the back, including the 0.005" hole and then deal with the exit bur on the face of your part.

Best way to do that is to wire or sinker EDM the face of the part...you just need to kiss it.
Lapping or grinding the face to get rid of the bur just pushes it into the hole.

If you can put the fiber in before you worry abut the bur, you can, of course, just lap it all together.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

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