Drilling holes in steel and stainless steel

There are several ways to make holes in steel and stainless steel. Depending on the size of the holes, De Boer Snijbedrijf cuts or drills them.

Drilling is a widely-used technique for making holes in steel and stainless steel. De Boer Snijbedrijf can drill holes both manually and with CNC up to a maximum depth of 350 mm and a diameter of 0.1 to 60 mm. CNC milling or cutting is used for holes larger than 60 mm in diameter. 

Cutting of holes

Oxy-fuel (autogenous) cutting, plasma cutting, and laser cutting are generally only possible if the diameter of the hole is larger than the thickness of the material. The edges of cut holes are rougher than the edges of drilled holes.

If there are specific requirements for the roughness and the tolerance of the material, it is better to drill, rather than cut, holes in steel or stainless steel. After cutting, the holes can be milled, reamed or broached so that the holes are perfectly round and meet specific precision, tolerance or roughness requirements.