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2025
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HSS drill bit vs cobalt drill bit
High-speed steel drills (HSS) and cobalt drills (generally cobalt-containing high-speed steel, such as M35, M42) are common metal drilling tools, but they differ in material, performance and usage scenarios.
The main components of HSS drills are tungsten, molybdenum, chromium, vanadium and other alloying elements, which have good toughness and moderate hardness and are suitable for processing materials of general hardness, such as ordinary steel, cast iron, copper alloy, aluminum alloy, etc. They are widely used in machinery manufacturing, automobile maintenance, furniture manufacturing and other industries.
Cobalt drills, on the other hand, are made by adding 5%-8% cobalt elements to high-speed steel, which has a higher hardness of up to HRA82 - 87, and still maintains high hardness and wear resistance at high temperatures, and is especially suitable for drilling stainless steel, hardened steel, titanium alloys and other high-strength metals. The addition of cobalt improves heat resistance and red hardness, meaning it is less likely to wear out or anneal when drilling for long periods of time or at high speeds, making it ideally suited to industrialized, high-volume, high-strength precision machining in areas such as aerospace, mold and die making, and medical devices.
Jinxin's experts can recommend the right drill for your needs. For daily drilling work on common metals or non-metals, HSS drills are sufficient, but for high hardness of processed materials and heavy drilling tasks, you can choose cobalt drills.
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