Choose the right coating for your drill or end mill

When selecting the right drill or end mill for your needs, choosing the right coating is critical. Your choice of coating can contribute to finished work quality, efficiency, reduce wasted raw materials, and improved lifespan of the tool itself.

With more than 26,000 end mill choices and hundreds of coating options in use across the industry, All Industrial Tool Supply can offer a carefully selected option for your specific needs. Let’s take a look at some of the factors to consider when choosing a tool coating:

Tool durability

Selecting a coating with a higher surface hardness can contribute to a longer tool lifespan.

Resistance to heat

Keeping a tool as cool as possible can also contribute to its lifespan. Increased heat can cause the coating to eventually fail. A more regular, consistent coating on the tool surface allows hot chips to slide away with less friction, reducing heat.

What material are you cutting?

Specific coatings have pros and cons for each material. Cutting steel, for example, requires a different coating than on a tool for cutting aluminum. Intended cutting speed and the equipment you plan to use can also contribute to the proper coating choice.

Popular end mill coating options

Some of the most popular end mill coatings currently on the market include:

• Titanium Nitride: Titanium Nitride coatings increase surface hardness and are a good choice on high speed steel tools. Fullerton’s TiN square end mills, for example, fall into this category.
• Titanium Carbo-Nitride: Adding carbon to titanium nitride adds additional surface hardness, making this coating type a great match for high speed steel cutting tools. Temperature must be controlled through the use of coolant or cutting oil.
• Titanium Aluminum Nitride: Very common on today’s carbide end mills. Often used when little, or no, coolant is being used, because the addition of aluminum oxide handles high heat better. YG1 offers a popular “TiAN” line of square end mills.
• Aluminum Chromium Nitride: Chromium Nitride coating has anti-seizure features, so it’s commonly used when built up edge is possible. Carbide cutting and high speed steel tools are offered with this coating and offer a very hard, smooth finish in the milled material. End mills with this coating can have a very long service life.
• Diamond: A top-performing coating that’s ideal for cutting high-silicon aluminum, metal matrix composites, and other abrasive materials. Harvey Tool’s diamond square end mills are offered with this type of coating.
• CCT-1: Colton's line of 4 flute end mills is offered with this proprietary coating offering a high hardness, high elasticity, and low friction that excels in stainless steels and other high nickel-based alloys.

With decades of experience, the team at All Industrial can help you narrow down a huge selection to the perfect choice for your application. Write or call anytime for our recommendations.