Machinist

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

Drilling for an answer- annular cutter vs drill bit
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/general/drilling-answer-annular-cutter-vs-drill-bit-315973/

I need to drill a 16mm or 5/8 inch hole in 16mm steel plate. Simple hey? The catch is i need to drill about 700 of them. So how should i go about it? Its for a fixture welding table much like the build pro ones and i have access to a mill with a DRO so i will set it out on that, i just need to know what cutting tool to use.

here are the options
1) HSS or Cobalt drill bit
2) Annular or broach cutter
3) please specify.

I originally thought an annular cutter but when talking to my school teacher he said "your drilling holes so use a drill bit". My concern is how long the drill bit will last, althought it may be a bit more accurate than the annular cutter. My teacher also thought that annular cutters are slow. Ive never used an annular cutter only drill bits and they arnt exactly that efficient. Please leave your opinions it would be greatly appreciated