Drilling boring and reaming are three different processes performed by manufacturing companies. They involve creating and modifying holes on a workpiece. Well, most people are familiar with drilling while boring and reaming might sound strange to some people. Now you’re about to get the breakdown between the processes.
Contents
Drilling
Drilling is a cutting process in which a drill bit is used to cut a circular-shaped hole in a material. The cutting material used is a rotary metallic material called a “drill bit” which contains a sharp tip that aids the cutting. This scraps out the material when the drilling machine is pressed against the workpiece. This drill bit digs away material as the cutting tools enter the workpiece.
Drilling is carryout on both wood and metal, but most people assume it is performed on soft materials like wood. well, this is to ensure drilling can be done on harder materials as long as the drill bit is hard enough to enter the workpiece. Learn about drilling here!
Boring
This operation is quite different from a drilling operation as involves the use of a single-point cutting tool or boring head to enlarge an existing hole in a material. it is done mostly in drilling operations when the diameter is needed to be increased, so a boring head of a larger size will be fixed on the drilling machine.
Boring is likely to be performed on the lathe, milling machine, or a horizontal boring mill. The working of these machines is totally different, but they are designed to enlarge an existing hole on a workpiece.
So, the difference between drilling and boring is that drilling is performed to create an initial hole in a workpiece. Whilst, boring is done to increase the diameter of an existing hole in a workpiece.
Reaming
Reaming is another cutting process that uses a rotary cutting tool to create smooth interior walls in an existing hole in a workpiece. Comparing reaming with drilling, the reamer removes significantly less material than the drill bit. But the primary purpose of reaming is to create smooth walls in an existing hole. Most manufacturing companies perform this operation mostly on a milling machine or drill press
Finally, the major difference between drilling, boring, and reaming is quite simple. In drilling a new hole is created, boring increase the diameter of an existing hole and reaming cuts a fine interior wall on an existing hole.
Difference Between Drilling, Boring, & Reaming in Tabular Form
| Aspect | Drilling | Boring | Reaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | To create a new hole in a material | To enlarge or finish an existing hole | To improve the surface finish and accuracy of an existing hole |
| Tool Used | Drill bit | Boring bar or boring head | Reamer |
| Material Removal | Removes a significant amount of material | Removes a smaller amount compared to drilling | Removes a very small amount of material |
| Accuracy | Generally lower accuracy | Higher accuracy than drilling but less than reaming | Highest accuracy among the three processes |
| Surface Finish | Rougher surface finish | Better surface finish than drilling | Best surface finish |
| Application | Initial step in creating holes | Secondary step to enlarge or align holes | Final step to achieve a precise diameter and smooth finish |
| Diameter Adjustment | Fixed diameter based on drill bit size | Adjustable diameter based on tool settings | Fixed diameter based on reamer size |
| Tool Path | Straight path along the axis of rotation | Can be adjusted to control the size and position of the hole | Follows the existing hole path |
| Common Use Cases | Creating holes for bolts, screws, and dowels | Enlarging holes for alignment, fitment, or assembly purposes | Precision fitting, achieving exact tolerance requirements |
That is all for this article, where I explained the difference between drilling, boring and reaming. I hope it was helpful, if so, kindly share with others. Thanks for reading, see you around!