Chipless process: Chip, Burrs and Swarf free with Friction Drilling

The unique benefits of not having any chips, burrs and swarfs!

Friction drilling is a drilling technique that minimizes material loss and does not create chips, shavings, or burrs. The Flowdrill friction drilling process forms the material around the friction drill, unlike traditional fastening methods that generate burrs and shavings through drilling. With Friction Drilling, more than three times the thickness of the original material is locally created. Since no material is lost, a strong connection is formed.

Why do you want to have no chips or swarfs?

Friction drilling results in several advantages when it comes to no chips, burrs, and swarfs:

• Removes the need for post-processing, saving time and costs
• Prevents damage to the final application
• Improves safety by eliminating sharp burrs

Customer Story on Chipless Drilling

“Johnson Controls, a leading manufacturer of heating and air systems (HVAC), faced challenges in their production process due to chips that impacted the quality of their final products. By adopting Flowdrill’s chipless thermal drilling method, Johnson Controls was able to address these challenges. The implementation of this new production method resulted in significant improvements in quality, efficiency, and cost savings for Johnson Controls.”

The entire case study can be read here.

Additional benefits of chip and swarf-free drilling!

Besides the chipless process, friction drilling has other additional benefits:

• Friction drilling eliminates the use of foreign materials as a fastening method, such as a rivet nut, weld nut, or press nut.
• Maintains material integrity with minimal material loss and cold forming (roll) tapping.
• Strengthens the connection through material compaction around the created hole.
• No addition of foreign materials, making the final product easy to recycle.
• Friction drilling eliminates foreign materials, resulting in a 77% weight reduction, especially beneficial in sectors where weight saving is crucial.
• Eliminating extra parts leads to an 85% cost saving per connection. This saves on both the costs of materials and labor costs for installation. Additionally, the friction drilling process saves labor hours because it is faster than traditional methods.

Contact us for more information!