Small Hole Drilling

My first thought would be using a CNC mill.

If you need to do many of these pieces, I'd suggest a punch press. If it's just one piece, I agree a CNC machine would work.

No a punch would not do it, the hole size (diameter) should be at minimum the thickness of material.

Thank you guys, I did make a mistake the holes need to be .015" not .050". I haven't had much luck with anyone wanted to do that size with CNC machine yet?

Laser. How 'clean' do the holes need to be?

http://reference.globalspec.com/references/detail?docid=5947542&doctype=4

http://www.epiloglaser.com

Maybe water jets?

http://www.globalspec.com/search/all?query=waterjet+cutting&newSearch=new

http://www.kmtwaterjet.com

Good luck with your quest.

Have a 2" wide x 2, or 4, or 6 inch long tool made with .015" pins installed and punch the holes in using a press or an arbor press.

These guys can do it....send them a drawing and get a price....

http://www.edmholedrilling.com/

You can't EDM plastics. Has to be electrically conductive, as in metal.

Always with the negative waves, but water jet cutting is a reach for a .015" hole, if the walls have to be straight, and while I have no experience jetting PE I have had CPVC cut and the result is "hanging chad" all along the bottom of the cut. Slots were about .062 wide in my work.

Well that may be so, but I think a workable prototype could be fashioned....after all the OP didn't mention any tolerances...?...and I might add the material is thin....maybe you had an old machine...this one seems to do pretty good ↓

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xeb-zoFgMY

Based on the OP's original post, I would agree that the template route is probably the best way to go. A CNC produced template would gaurantee accuracy and repeatability, in his "finished" parts. I wouldn't even think about trying to layout and drill that many holes, not even the most accomplished machinests, millwrights or other trade would try it now with all the technology available. Even if they did, it would probably still be more cost effective the CNC method. 1425 holes takes a long, long, long time to layout and then to be accurate in center punching/marking for drilling, bound to be a few(if not many) holes not accurately placed. Anyone doing this manually has 4275 steps that can go wrong.

I am not sure it could work with the plate material since it is (I think) electrically insulating.

You can hand layout the hole pattern with good measuring tools and a center punch to dimple the material, but you didn't say how accurate you need to be.

The best solution is a CNC mill with the appropriate tool and coolant.

A machine with a drill for plastic will help keep each hole correctly positioned and straight.

If you can't find a shop to do this and you must do it yourself, make a drill block out of steel or aluminum and buy some Drill Bushings to press into a larger hole in the block.

This will make sure the drill goes into the material perpendicular to the material. You still need to locate your holes, but center punching the holes will at least provide something to work with.

If you don't have the skill for this, find a shop and pay the price.

OK, kind of a key... and probably stupid... question: Are they blind holes or thru holes?

• If blind, tolerance of depth control?
• If thru, is burr on opposite face acceptable?

Tolerances apply to the hole? 0.015 +/- ?

How many do you need to make? <- Will determine process.

While thinking about some alternatives to help you out, I realised nobody asked what we talking about: is it a DIY backyard project or for an industrial application for which you count with a generous budget? Is it going to be a one time job or will it be repetitive? Is time or labor cost an issue or not? From the mechanical point of view, as already suggested, a metal template with CNC drilled holes, fixed to the plastic using screws / double side adhesive tape / bench presses, etc and to drill or punch the holes into the plastic may work. Laser is not an option because it will produce a "bleeding" effect in the Plastic. A CNC Water Jet might be an option too

If 1-5 units for a home project I would make a metal jig/template that mimics the pattern and size and fits firmly over the piece then using a small drill press I would drill the holes.

If making a large quantity I would use a CNC drill press or milling machine.

Use a 4/0 center drill bit (0.015") in an appropriate milling machine or drill machine to drill the holes, preferable CNC. Best if a plate with appropriate sized drill bushings can be clamped over the piece to be drilled.

This is going to be a very tricky project. 0.015" is the thickness of 5 sheets of ordinary computer paper!

These will be the most rigid bit for your hole drilling.

If this does not suit your process, use a laser.

Good Luck, Old Salt

A carbide drill bit 0.4mm as used in PCBs is pretty close. Available from AliExpress.

You need to go a lot faster than most workshop machines can. I worked at a place (Uni) where they made a drilling machine for these which used compressed air blowing through a jet against an old small gear as the drive.

Jim

when using carbid drills, you must have absolute concentricity and immobility in the work piece.

Carbide is brittle in the extreme and any wobble will break the drill

Laser/water jet will not work because of the material and hole dia, drilling or punching are the only viable options. Punching would require a punch/die set to eliminate upset of the hole on the underside. Old Salt has the right idea using a center drill but the center drill tip length would not be long enough and the drill would have to be custom ground to increase the tip length. Drilling "plastics" is problematic from the standpoint of heat generation, which will cause the hole size to change if not done properly. Thermal expansion/contraction of the part will also cause the hole locations to move. A good air conditioned CNC shop using a constant coolant flood should be able to produce a satisfactory part. Have them leave the part in the shop for 24 hours before starting drilling, this will stabilize it thermally. You will also have to QC the part in the shop after drilling, once removed from the shop the part will change as a result of thermal expansion/contraction and hole locations will move. There is nothing you can do to prevent this.

Wow, thanks to all for the great ideas and taking the time to lend me a hand on this project. Unfortunately this is a prototype to start with so the quantity will be limited until after testing. The holes do need to go all the way through will no chad. After seeing all the comments maybe I should rethink the material I am using. Water will be flowing through the holes under pressure so maybe a different material other than polyethylene? Thanks again for putting me on track, a great site with helpful people. Hopefully I can return the help some day. Hook

You might advise us of the function of this plate, so we can think about other, possibly more optimal, solutions to your problem.

Go with stainless steel. Lasers LOVE to cut stainless.

This is a natural for a laser.

If you change the material it will be good to check if the thickness cannot be reduced.

Some suggest stainless steel which has an elastic limit a lot over polyethylene.

For that many holes and the small size and accuracy you need, the only way to go is a CNC mill or drilling machine.

If my CNC drill was up and running, I would do it for you!

My X-Y table is not functioning and just haven't had the time to fix it.

Try Protolabs. They have a fast turn around and I believe they do one off parts.

Thanks to all that replied for their help. New question is, can I post a photo on this site to see if anyone can identify the way the holes were drilled or punched in the picture? Thanks again, Hook

See the little green camera:-

Click on it then on "Browse"

Find the picture on your PC then click on "Submit".

Thanks Randall for help with pictures, was on my iPad with no icons, can anyone identify how these holes were drilled from the above pictures? Punched, CNC etc. Many thanks for any help in what process was used to do these holes. I posted another message in Latest Forum Threads trying to get pictures posted. Slow but I'm getting it. Any help please!!! Hook

Most repetitive hole patterns like that are done by punches and dies, depending on the material used. Using drilling technology would not be very cost effective as it would be one hole at a time. A fixture could be set up to drill several holes at once on a CNC machine. However it is done, if it is a one off project, it will be expensive.