Painting grooves onto Drills

tait03 · Aug 23, 2018

Hello,

I work for a company and we've been making these drills that need either one or two grooves painted with a Uniglaze Epoxy Paint. The paint is pretty thick not like your standard paint. We are trying to find away to stream line the process vor various diameter drills. Some drills we will make 300 a year some upwards of 15000.

Any suggestions people have to paint these grooves to either increase productivity or even automate potentially would be helpful. Currently we can paint around 20 of them an hour. Parts get blasted as well so we are looking at potentially painting first and then masking the groove for blasting so that any excess paint will be removed from the body of the drill. The diameter of the body of the attached drill is Ø.181. Appreciate any suggestions anyone has.

DDoug · Aug 23, 2018

Finish Thompson did make machinery/process to do this kind of work.

Automated Painting, masking, etc.

My neighbor worked there, showed us machinery they designed and built
for applying paint to the lines on golf club faces, applying fuzz to tennis balls, etc.

History - Finish Thompson, Inc.

However, it appears they only do pumps now.

A phone call to them, might get you some info of where that division went to.

Milland · Aug 23, 2018

If these drills are for medical applications make that clear to whichever vendors you speak with. Some may not want to deal with the extra risks associated with such work.

adama · Aug 23, 2018

Honestly im not seeing what takes 3 minutes each to paint about that grove? Far easier option may be to use simple heat shrink tubing bands and shrink them into that grove, way faster and easier than wet paint.

If i had to paint them i would look at the syringe based dispensing systems, a simple V block and a guide should make it pretty dang quick to put a smear of colour into that grove. Would do it post blast too, should be easy once you find the correct tip - technique.

Larry Dickman · Aug 23, 2018

rotary screen printer?

Scruffy887 · Aug 23, 2018

Metal paint roller in exact width. You would need to build a machine for this and need to consult somebody about roll coating. Process should take seconds per unit.

M.B. Naegle · Aug 23, 2018

Rather than automating doing them 1 by 1, I wonder if you laid them in a tray facing the same direction and rolled them under an applicator? As long as you control your coating so it doesn't fill more than the outside diameter and kept them rolling through a dryer, you could control the chance of dripping and keep them from sticking together.

Bill D · Aug 23, 2018

Or you could paint the flutes then finish grind the od.
Bill D.

EPAIII · Aug 23, 2018

I was thinking of dipping them and then using an automatic wiper. Something like gripping them with a hydraulic or pneumatically operated collet and rotating them past a cloth belt that constantly but slowly moves to expose fresh, clean cloth. One or two revolutions of the drill and an inch of the cloth belt and they should be good to go. Sharpen them after the paint dries.

You may need a light application of solvent to the cloth. A drip or spray nozzle just before the point of use could do that.

Bill D said:
Or you could paint the flutes then finish grind the od.
Bill D.

lionelt · Aug 23, 2018

Pinstriping Tool? Wheels come in different widths.

aldentool · May 12, 2022

tait03 said:
Hello,

I work for a company and we've been making these drills that need either one or two grooves painted with a Uniglaze Epoxy Paint. The paint is pretty thick not like your standard paint. We are trying to find away to stream line the process vor various diameter drills. Some drills we will make 300 a year some upwards of 15000.

Any suggestions people have to paint these grooves to either increase productivity or even automate potentially would be helpful. Currently we can paint around 20 of them an hour. Parts get blasted as well so we are looking at potentially painting first and then masking the groove for blasting so that any excess paint will be removed from the body of the drill. The diameter of the body of the attached drill is Ø.181. Appreciate any suggestions anyone has.

View attachment 236390

View attachment 236392

Hello,
we are still struggling with this. Did you every find a solution that works? The challenge for us is that the epoxy has to be mixed with a catalyst and reducer and then has to dry and be baked in an oven. Different colors require different times. Also, the cleaning and inspecting is very lengthy. Customers do not want to see any voids, bubbles, or any paint outside of the groove. When you are painting a drill 3mm in diameter it is very small! Currently we are doing it all by hand. Throughput part to part takes us about 6 minutes. It is killing us.

aldentool · May 12, 2022

The lengthy part is the mixing of the ink with the catalyst and reducer, and also they have to be dried and baked in order for the epoxy to stay on. Depending on the color, drying can take up to 12 hours. You then have to inspect them for voids, bubbles, and excessive paint anywhere else on the tool. We thought the same thing when wee started doing them. We still havent figured out a way to speed up the process. It is killing us to be honest.

also the epoxy, catalyst, reducer mixture starts to harden after about 10 minutes so you have to constantly stir it.

crossthread · May 13, 2022

Down here in the south we call that a shit storm. The way you describe the process I can't think of anything that will speed things up without building some sort of dedicated (think expensive) piece of machinery. I hope that when the job was bid that the time and expense of this operation was accounted for. You say it is killing you but not if the job was bid properly.

Scottl · May 13, 2022

My first thought would be to spin the bits with a slow RPM motor and use a felt roller to apply the paint. There ought to be a way to easily automate or semi-automate such a process.

As for mixing, perhaps use a magnetic stirrer with a variable speed. The mixer bar would need to be removed and dropped in acetone before the batch hardens.

For dispensing, perhaps something similar to the tinting station used for custom paint mixing as used in many hardware stores. The formulas are defined by the number of "shots" of each color.

boslab · May 13, 2022

Transfer roller, perhaps the epoxy can or comes in uv cure, most do
Mark

aldentool · May 13, 2022

In the north its a sh* storm as well

. Just challenges of manufacturing.

1yesca · May 13, 2022

Scottl said:
My first thought would be to spin the bits with a slow RPM motor and use a felt roller to apply the paint. There ought to be a way to easily automate or semi-automate such a process.

As for mixing, perhaps use a magnetic stirrer with a variable speed. The mixer bar would need to be removed and dropped in acetone before the batch hardens.

For dispensing, perhaps something similar to the tinting station used for custom paint mixing as used in many hardware stores. The formulas are defined by the number of "shots" of each color.

i have a pal that make custom fishing rods and i made a rack with low rpm gear motors that rotate the rod tell the clear coat drys that way you get an even coat works real good

jccaclimber · May 13, 2022

If the epoxy hardens after 10 minutes then don’t mix up a big batch.
Can this be mixed through a standard mixing tube on its way to the roller that applies it?

eKretz · May 14, 2022

I would be looking to try a paint dip on the whole fluted end of the drill, then pull up through a silicone rubber wiper that removes paint from the OD only, leaving it in the flutes. If you can automate the paint removal from the wiper between drills, you might be able to do them awful quick.

dalmatiangirl61 · May 14, 2022

If you are not ready to automate the process, I'd be looking for a special needs person with OCD, there are perks for hiring them too.

Painting grooves onto Drills

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