The aim is to achieve the best possible work result in a short time and to keep wear on the tool as low as possible. The cutting speed during drilling is significantly influenced by the diameter
of the drill and the speed of the drill. There are cutting speed tables that make it easier for us to quickly determine these parameters.
The correct drill speed depends on:
- Diameter of the drill
- Desired cutting speed
In the following drill speed table you will find guide values for the most common materials and drill diameters.
Simple drill speed table | ||||||
Wood | Steel | Stainless steel | Aluminium | Brass | Plastic | |
Drill diameter |
Drill speed in rpm | |||||
2 mm | 3500 | 2600 | 2000 | 5000 | 4000 | 2300 |
3 mm | 3000 | 2200 | 1600 | 4500 | 3500 | 1900 |
4 mm | 2600 | 1800 | 1250 | 4000 | 3100 | 1500 |
5 mm | 2250 | 1500 | 1000 | 3500 | 2750 | 1250 |
6 mm | 1950 | 1250 | 800 | 3050 | 2400 | 1050 |
7 mm | 1650 | 1060 | 660 | 2650 | 2100 | 900 |
8 mm | 1400 | 900 | 560 | 2330 | 1800 | 775 |
9 mm | 1180 | 770 | 490 | 2000 | 1540 | 660 |
10 mm | 980 | 660 | 430 | 1730 | 1300 | 580 |
12 mm | 800 | 580 | 375 | 1480 | 1080 | 510 |
13 mm | 650 | 510 |
330 |
1250 | 860 | 450 |
14 mm | 520 | 450 | 300 | 1050 | 700 | 400 |
15 mm | 420 | 400 | 270 | 870 | 550 | 360 |
16 mm | 360 | 350 | 250 | 730 | 450 | 320 |
18 mm | 310 | 310 | 220 | 610 | 380 | 290 |
19 mm | 280 | 270 | 200 | 510 | 330 | 270 |
20 mm | 265 | 250 | 185 | 420 | 300 | 250 |
25 mm | 250 | 240 | 170 | 350 | 280 | 230 |
30 mm | 240 | 230 | 160 | 280 | 260 | 220 |
*All data without guarantee
In the table here you will find the calculated cutting speed (in m/min) depending on the drill diameter and drill speed. How the drill speed is calculated has already been shown in the formula
above.
Drill speed table with cutting speed |
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Cutting speed rpm |
2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 20 |
drill Ø | Drill speed in rpm | |||||||||||
1,0 |
637 | 955 | 1273 | 1591 | 1910 | 2228 | 2546 | 3183 | 3819 | 4774 | 5729 | 6365 |
2,0 | 318 | 477 | 637 | 796 | 955 | 1114 | 1273 | 1591 | 1910 | 2387 | 2864 | 3183 |
2,5 | 255 | 382 | 509 | 637 | 764 | 891 | 1018 | 1273 | 1528 | 1910 | 2292 | 2546 |
3,0 | 212 | 318 | 424 | 530 | 637 | 743 | 849 | 1061 | 1273 | 1591 | 1910 | 2122 |
3,5 | 182 | 273 | 364 | 455 | 546 | 637 | 727 | 909 | 1091 | 1364 | 1637 | 1819 |
4,0 | 159 | 239 | 318 | 398 | 477 | 557 | 637 | 796 | 955 | 1194 | 1432 | 1591 |
5,0 | 127 | 191 | 255 | 318 | 382 | 446 | 509 | 637 | 764 | 955 | 1146 | 1273 |
6,0 | 106 | 159 | 212 | 265 | 318 | 371 | 424 | 530 | 637 | 796 | 955 | 1061 |
7,0 | 91 | 136 | 182 | 227 | 273 | 31 | 364 | 455 | 546 | 682 | 818 | 909 |
8,0 | 80 | 119 | 159 | 199 | 239 | 278 | 318 | 398 | 477 | 597 | 716 | 796 |
9,0 | 71 | 106 | 141 | 177 | 212 | 248 | 283 | 354 | 424 | 530 | 637 | 707 |
10 | 64 | 95 | 127 | 159 | 191 | 223 | 255 | 318 | 382 | 477 | 576 | 637 |
11 | 58 | 87 | 116 | 145 | 174 |
203 |
231 | 289 | 347 | 434 | 521 | 579 |
12 | 53 | 80 | 106 | 133 | 159 | 186 | 212 | 265 | 318 | 398 | 477 | 530 |
14 | 45 | 68 | 91 | 114 | 136 | 159 | 182 | 227 | 273 | 341 | 409 | 455 |
16 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 99 | 119 | 139 | 159 | 199 | 239 | 298 | 258 | 398 |
18 | 35 | 53 | 71 | 88 | 106 | 124 | 141 | 177 | 212 | 265 | 318 | 354 |
20 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 | 63 | 111 | 127 | 159 | 191 | 239 | 286 | 318 |
22 | 29 | 43 | 58 | 72 | 87 | 101 | 116 | 145 | 174 | 217 | 260 | 289 |
24 | 27 | 40 | 53 | 66 | 80 | 93 | 106 | 133 | 159 | 199 | 239 | 265 |
27 | 24 | 35 | 47 | 59 | 71 | 83 | 94 | 118 | 141 | 177 | 212 | 236 |
30 | 21 | 32 | 42 | 53 | 64 | 74 | 85 | 106 | 127 | 159 | 191 | 212 |
*All data without guarantee
In the following table you will find guide values for the cutting speed for certain material groups and which cooling lubricant can be used. As mentioned, these are only rough guide values.
Material to be machined |
Cutting speed Vc in m/min |
Cooling lubricant |
unalloyed structural steels < 700 N/mm² | 30 - 50 | cutting oil |
alloyed structural steels < 1000 N/mm² | 20 - 25 | cutting oil |
Cast iron < 250 N/mm² | 15 - 25 | Compressed air |
Cast iron > 250 N/mm² | 10 - 20 | Compressed air |
Copper-tin alloy brittle | 60 - 100 | Compressed air |
Copper-tin alloy tough | 35 - 60 | Compressed air |
Aluminium alloy | 30 - 50 | cutting oil |
Thermoplastics | 20 - 40 | Water |
Thermosets | 15 - 35 | Compressed air |
*All data without guarantee.