Steel Rule Die Bits and Accessories
We offer premium sub-micrograin tungsten carbide, enhanced with advanced ceramic coatings to extend tool life and cutting properties. Our innovative cutter designs feature superior cut quality and the lowest deflection of any other bits on the market.
Our proprietary 5-flute kerf-cutter geometry was designed to minimize deflection under heavy cutting loads, significantly reducing variations in knife insertion forces over the life of each tool.
Try one today and see for yourself!
What are depth rings?
What are depth rings and what tools can have them?
Depth setting rings are plastic collars that are securely pressed onto the 1/8 in. shank of a drill bit, end-mill, router bit, or similar rotary cutter. There is no charge to add the rings, but the user is cautioned to make sure that their equipment is compatible with their use.
Most PreciseBits 1/8 in. shank bits are available with or without depth setting rings. Bits that can't have rings are:
- End-mills smaller than 0.005" (0.127mm)
- Shanks longer than 1.50" OAL
- Cutting depths or necks longer than 0.50"
- SRD kerf cutters (MM5D8)
How do they work and why would I want them?
The shank side of the ring (top side in the picture to the right) is accurately positioned (d ±0.004 in.) relative to the tip of the tool. If the shank-side of the ring is pressed against the collet when the tool is loaded, the tip of the bit will be a known distance (d) from the face of the collet. Knowing this distance, the programmer can plunge the tool, confident that the depth of cut will be as expected and will remain the same no matter how many times the tool is changed. If all of the tools in the programmer's magazine have been fitted with depth setting rings, an automatic tool changer can load and unload tools with the tip of each one the same distance from the face of the collet.
This is especially helpful with micro-tools where "touching-off" on some reference surface to calibrate the tool height can damage or break the tip of the tool. Rings also find widespread use in inlay pocket cutting where relatively large diameter cutters are used to "hog out" basic shapes, followed by much smaller diameter finishing bits that clean up the edges, sharpen the corners and add fine detail to the finished part.
LPKF and T-Tech
The most common value for d is 0.800 in. (industry standard). However, with the advent of mechanically etching printed circuit boards in the mid 1970s, a new standard was implemented for the special purpose tools developed for this application.
Today, only machines made by LPKF and T-Tech adhere to this special standard. Systems from AccurateCNC, MITS, Sun and EverPrecision are compatible with the original industry standard depth of 0.800 in.
Specifications
Our 5-flute UltraBIT kerf cutters are rapidly becoming the tools of choice among steel rule diemakers. Specifically tuned for high-speed cutting
Specifications
These tools have a split personality. They spend most of the day cutting shapes out of plywood for cabinetry, shelving and steel-rule die boards. (Applications where splintering and fuzzing of the top, or bottom surface has to be minimized.) The rest of the time, they are happily drilling precision registration holes in die boards and counter boards.
Specifications
PreciseBIT 1/8 in. dia., 2-flute contour cutters feature a flute geometry designed to produce clean, accurate sidewalls at very high chip loads
High-rake 3-flute cutters designed for machining pockets and cutouts in strippers, blankers and counter boards. Deflection tolerant design supports high chip-loads and deeper cutting than 2-flute designs.
Specifications
The innovative center-cutting WhisperCut is the first skiving tool specifically tuned to cut composite and laminated counterboard substrates. The high-rake, 4-flute geometry insures thousands of inches of clean, smooth skiving at a fraction of the noise produced by conventional cutters.
Specifications
One area where lasers cannot even hope to compete with large format CNC routers is the fabrication of counter boards. Used with the precision machines on the market today, 3 and 4-flute PreciseBIT channel cutters offer the cleanest cuts at the highest feed rates in the industry.
Specifications
These tools offer the best low-cost, high-performance solution to depanelling counter boards and chamfering counter board channels. Optimized for cutting composite counter board substrates, they operate at
These tools offer the best low-cost, high-performance solution to depanelling counter boards and chamfering counter board channels. Optimized for cutting composite counter board substrates, they operate at
All of our collets and tool-holders are:
· manufactured to exceed industry specifications
· 100% optically measured to ±50 µin (1.27 µm)
· certified low TIR for longer tool life
· Ultra-Precision (UP) and Extreme-Precision (EP)
collets designed for steel-rule diemaking
· dissolve varnish and gummy deposits in the
spindle bore
· loosen rust
· inhibit corrosion in spindle bores and
on the surfaces of collets and toolholders.