7 Facts About Carbide Burrs And How To Use Them

Carbide burrs are crucial if your task requires shaping, grinding, or cutting—especially with air tools. They may work with a variety of materials, including wood, ceramics, fiberglass, steel, iron, and titanium. Carbide burrs, also known as die grinder bits or rotary files, are available in a variety of shapes, making it possible to customize the burr according to the work. The following information will help you use them effectively in your project.

What are Carbide Burrs?

Rotary files, commonly known as carbide burrs, are tiny spinning tools used for cutting. Theoretically, carbide burrs are similar to files, but they cut and finish metal workpieces by rotating rapidly as opposed to cutting in a linear motion. Sharp edges, burrs, and superfluous material can be shaped, chopped, ground off, and removed with carbide burrs. Carbide burrs are rigid and strong, thus there are fewer vibrations and hence no bends.

In the production of aerospace and turbine parts as well as in the transformation of metal, carbide burrs are frequently employed for deburring, weld preparation, chamfering, edge breaking, and removing material from intricate and challenging-to-reach places.

Use carbide straight shank drills or carbide micro drills when drilling holes in difficult metals. A carbide end mill, carbide slot drill, or carbide router can be applied to cut slots, route, profile, contour, counterbore, and ream. A diamond burr is used to cut and shape glass or stone.

7 Facts About Carbide Burrs

1. Many Materials Can Be Used with Carbide Burrs

All types of wood, plastics such as glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP), carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CRP), fiberglass, acrylic, and metals such as cast iron, aluminum, and steel are among the materials that use tungsten carbide burrs. Carbide burrs have a long lifespan without breaking or shattering, making them appropriate for soft metals like silver, platinum, and gold. Titanium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, and other metals are among the others.

What applications are carbide burrs used in?

Die grinders, high-speed engravers, and pneumatic rotary tools are examples of air tools that frequently employ carbide burrs. Other examples are hobby rotary tools, flexible shafts, pendant drills, and micro motors. Remember to use a handpiece that doesn't wobble at all times.

The uses of carbide burrs

Carbide burrs are used in a variety of fields, including metalworking, dentistry, the automobile, and aerospace sectors, among others. They are frequently used in various industries for metalwork such as carving, cylinder head porting, grinding, deburring, casting, chamfering, welding, jewelry making, wood carving, model engineering, and tool building.

2. Carbide Burr Cut Types: Single Cut And Double/Diamond Cut

Single-cut carbide burrs, commonly known as one flute, will efficiently remove the material with a smooth finish if used with right-handed spiral flutes. They mostly work with stainless steel, cast iron, hardened steel, and ferrous metals like copper and iron. They are appropriate for heavy stock removal, milling, and deburring.

On the other hand, the double-cut carbide burrs, also known as cross-cut or diamond-cut because of the two flutes that are cut across one another, are typically used on all non-metal materials, including soft steel, aluminum, wood, and ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The finish is smoother with the double-cut carbide burrs than with the single cut because they make smaller chips when they remove the material.

3. Shapes Of Carbide Burrs

The cut or profile you want to accomplish will guide your decision regarding the type of carbide burr to use. The many shapes of carbide burrs are listed below:

• Carbide Ball Burrs
• Carbide Inverted Cone Burrs
• Carbide Tree Burrs
• Carbide Pointed Cone & Ball Nose Burrs; Carbide Round Nose Burrs
• Oval Burrs
• Cylinder Burrs. End/Ball nose/ Round Nose Cut
• Flame Burrs
• Countersink Burrs
• Oblate Spheroid

4. Limit The Amount Of Pressure You Use

As with all drill bits and burrs, let the burr do the work and exert gentle pressure; otherwise, the flutes' cutting edges will chip off or smooth out too rapidly, shortening the burr's lifespan.

5. How Fast (Rpm) Should You Operate The Carbide Burrs?

The speed at which you utilize your carbide burr set in your rotary tool depends on the shape being formed and the material to be worked on. However, you should begin slowly and pick up speed as you proceed. Speeds over 35,000 RPM are unacceptable.

6. Compared To HSS Burrs, Carbide Burrs Are Stiffer

Burrs made from high-quality carbides are manufactured by machine. As Tungsten Carbide is extremely dense (compared to HSS), it is suitable for far more difficult projects than HSS. Carbide burrs are also more heat resistant than HSS, so they can run hotter longer.

For long-term performance, a carbide is always a preferable option because HSS burrs will start to weaken at higher temperatures.

7. Continuously Move The Carbide Burr

Try not to hold your die grinder bit stationary for too long when using it. This will stop the burr from poking and burrowing into the material, leaving ugly markings and roughness. To give your work a nicer finish, end with an "up" stroke. Soft cast iron can be easily unclogged by using a carbide burr.