drilling chromium help please

[mbrupb]

Hey guys I need to drill small holes (0.1285") in a 1/8" thick chromium sheet that I have. I could not find much information on drilling chromium online. Any recommendations on spindle speed would be greatly appreciated. I am using a #30 carbide tipped drill bit. Thanks for your help.

[PixMan]

It's highly unlikely that you have pure chromium sheet there. More likely it's either a high-chromium alloy steel or a piece of some kind of material that is chromium plated.

Is it shiny? Is it magnetic?

[mbrupb]

The sheet I have is high purity (99.8% chromium)...any suggestions on spindle speed? I am just drilling small holes (0.1285") with a carbide drill bit.

[PixMan]

Wow, I've never seen nor heard of chromium plates like that.

It's just a guess, a starting point, but chromium being so abrasive I would start at 50sfm (around 1400rpm) with solid carbide and see if you can get any life out of it.

[underthetire]

Here is my guess that will happen drilling chromium. A carbide tipped drill will heat up at rpm, and will debond from the shank, break off in the hole, and make a mess. Too slow and will tear and chip. You might want to find a solid carbide drill. I did a lot of alloy that had chromium, nickel, and a bunch of other nasties in it. All drilling was done with medium pressure coolant through the tool(250 psi back then). Good luck!

[RomanLini]

Where did you buy the 1/8" thick Chromium sheet? And the price? It sounds interesting.

Is it brittle? I've played with thick chromium plating flakes that came off equpment at they were brittle and would snap without too much force.