HSS Twist Drill Recommended Speeds and Point Angles

(Scroll down for recommended feed rates by diameter)

Steels

Point Angle

SFM

Steel < 180 HB

118

80-110

Steel 180-280 HB

118

45-70

Steel 280-380 HB

135-140

30-45

Steel >380 HB
Stainless Steels

135-140
Point Angle

15-25
SFM

135-140

20-40

Stainless steel 200-300 series

Stainless steel 400 series and PH

118
Cast Iron
Point Angle

30-60
SFM

Gray cast iron < 180 HB

90

100-150

Gray cast iron 180-200 HB

118

70-100

Gray cast iron - > 200 HB

118

50-70

Ductile/Nodular cast iron

118

70-80

Cast Iron - chilled

High-temp alloys

135-140
Point Angle

25-35
SFM

Inconel 600 series

135-140

15-30

Inconel X

135-140

10-15

Hastelloy

135-140

15-30

Titanium and titanium alloys

135-140

20-30

A-286

135-140

15-25

118
Point Angle

40-50
SFM

Aluminum and aluminum alloys

118

200-300

Brass

111

150-250

Bronze

118

100-200

Copper

118

100-200

Monel
Non-ferrous

HSS Twist Drill Recommended Feed Rates by Diameter

Diameter

Feed - IPR

1/4" to 5/16 "

.006" to.010"

3/8" to 7/16"

.008" to.012"

1/2" to 9/16"

.010" to.014"

5/8" to 11/16"

.012" to.016"

3/4" to 13/16"

.013" to.018"

7/8" to 1 1/8"

.015" to .025"

1 1/4" to 1 1/2"

.020" to .040"

Over 1 1/2"

.025" and up

Applies for plain carbon and low-alloy steels and cast steel and to a limited extent for highalloy and/or work hardened steel.

Hardness Conversion Table

Tensile
Strength
(N/mm2)

Brinell Hardness
(BHN)

Vickers Hardness
(HV)

Rockwell
Hardness
(HRB)

285

86

90

320

95

100

56.2

350

105

110

62.3

385

114

120

66.7

415

124

130

71.2

450

133

140

75.0

480

143

150

78.7

510

152

160

81.7

545

162

170

85.0

575

171

180

87.1

610

181

190

89.5

640

190

200

91.5

675

199

210

93.5

705

209

220

95.0

740

219

230

96.7

770

228

240

98.1

800

238

250

99.5

820

242

255

23.1

850

252

265

24.8

880

261

275

26.4

900

266

280

27.1

930

276

290

28.5

950

280

295

29.2

995

295

310

31.0

1030

304

320

32.2

1060

314

330

33.3

1095

323

340

34.4

1125

333

350

35.5

1155

342

360

36.6

1190

352

370

37.7

Rockwell Hardness
(HRC)

1220

361

380

38.8

1255

371

390

39.8

1290

380

400

40.8

1320

390

410

41.8

1350

399

420

42.7

1385

409

430

43.6

1420

418

440

44.5

1455

428

450

45.3

1485

437

460

46.1

1520

447

470

46.9

1555

456

480

47.7

1595

466

490

48.4

1630

475

500

49.1

1665

485

510

49.8

1700

494

520

50.5

1740

504

530

51.1

1775

513

540

51.7

1810

523

550

52.3

1845

532

560

53.0

1880

542

570

53.6

1920

551

580

54.1

1955

561

590

54.7

1995

570

600

55.2

2030

580

610

55.7

2070

589

620

56.3

2105

599

630

56.8

2145

608

640

57.3

2180

618

650

57.8

Step-by-Step Grease Selection

How do you know if youre using the right grease? You might be using a high-quality
grease. You may have put a lot of effort and money into selecting the best quality grease
in the pursuit of lubrication excellence. But dont confuse the quality of the lubricant with
the quality of the specification. Considering this lubricating oil analogy, the best quality
turbine oil would most likely not make a good engine oil.
Most users are aware of the importance of selecting the right lubricant for a given
application. When it comes to selecting lubricating oils for manufactured equipment, its
easy to determine which products meet the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
requirements. OEM specifications for a lubricating oil normally include viscosity at
operating or ambient temperature, additive requirements, base oil type and even special
considerations for different environmental conditions. Grease specifications, on the other
hand, often lack the detail necessary to make a proper selection, leaving it up to the
lubrication engineer to create the specification.
A common OEM grease specification might be to use an NLGI (National Lubrication
Grease Institute) No. 2 lithium grease of good quality. Using this information alone, one
could select the right consistency and thickener type. A similar specification for an oillubricated application would be to use a good quality lubricating
oil. What?!
Due to the lack of specificity in most grease recommendations, it
is important to learn how to properly select greases for each
application in the plant. Proper grease specification requires all of
the components of oil selection and more. Other special
considerations for grease selection include thickener type and
concentration, consistency, dropping point and operating
temperature range, worked stability, oxidation stability, wear
resistance, etc. Understanding the need and the methods for appropriate grease
selection will go a long way toward improving lubrication programs and the reliability of
lubricated machinery. Lets walk through the grease selection process step by step,
starting with the most important property.

Base Oil Viscosity

The most important property of any lubricant is viscosity. A common mistake when
selecting a grease is to confuse the grease consistency with the base oil viscosity.
Because the majority of grease-lubricated applications are element bearings, one should
consider viscosity selection for those applications. While most would not use an EP 220
gear oil for an oil-lubricated electric motor bearing, many people will use a grease
containing that same oil for an identical grease-lubricated bearing. There are several
common methods for determining minimum and optimum viscosity requirements for
element bearings, most of which use speed factors, commonly denoted as DN or NDm.
Speed factors account for the surface speed of the bearing elements and are determined
by the following formulas:
DN = (rpm) * (bearing bore) and
NDm = rpm * (( bearing bore + outside diameter) / 2)
The NDm value uses pitch diameter rather than bore diameter because not all bearings
of a given bore have the same element diameter, and thus have different surface
speeds. Knowing the speed factor value and likely operating temperature, the minimum
viscosity requirement can be read directly from charts like Figure 1.

Figure 1. (Courtesy of ExxonMobil)

Figure 1 assumes the base oils viscosity index. To be more precise, one would need to
use a chart that identifies the viscosity at operating temperature, then determine the
viscosity grade from a viscosity/temperature chart for a given lubricant.

Additives and Base Oil Type

Once the appropriate viscosity has been determined, its time to consider additives. The
additive and base oil types are other components of grease that should be selected in a
fashion similar to that used for oil-lubricated applications. For instance, a lightly loaded
high-speed element bearing does not require extreme pressure (EP) additives or
tackifying agents, while a heavily loaded open gear set does.
Most performance-enhancing additives found in lubricating oils are also used in grease
formulation and should be chosen according to the demands of the application. Figure 2
shows some common additive requirements by application. Most greases are formulated
using API Group I and II mineral oil base stocks, which are appropriate for most
applications. However, there are applications that might benefit from the use of a
synthetic base oil. Such applications include high or low operating temperatures, a wide
ambient temperature range, or any application where extended relubrication intervals
are desired.
Additive

Journal
Ball
Thrust
Roller
Needle
Bearings Bearings Bearings Bearings Bearings

Antioxidants

Antifoam
Agents

Antiwear/EP
Rust
Inhibitors

Extreme
Pressure
Demulsibility

VI
Improvers

Corrosion
Inhibitors

Required, - Depends on application

Figure 2

Grease Consistency and Thickener Type

Now for that extra step: The consistency of grease is controlled by the thickener
concentration, thickener type and the viscosity of the base oil. Even though base oil
viscosity affects consistency, it is important to note that a grease can have a high
consistency and a low base oil viscosity or vice versa. The NLGI has established a scale
to indicate grease consistency which ranges from grades 000 (semifluid) to 6 (block
grease). The most common NLGI grade is two and is recommended for most
applications.
For bearings, speed factor and operating temperature can be used to determine the best
consistency or NLGI grade for a given application. It may seem counterintuitive, but
higher speed factors require higher consistency greases. Table 1 provides a general
guide to selecting NLGI grade based on speed factor and operating temperature.
Operating
Temperature

DN (Speed Factor)

NLGI No.*

-30 to 100F

0 - 75,000
75,00 - 150,000
150,000 - 300,000

1
2
2

0 to 150F

0 - 75,000
75,00 - 150,000
150,000 - 300,000

2
2
3

100 to 275F

0 - 75,000
75,00 - 150,000
150,000 - 300,000

2
3
3

*Depends on other factors as well, including bearing

type, thickener type, base oil viscosity and base oil type
Table 1
Numerous types of grease thickeners are currently in use, each with its own pros and
cons. The most common types are simple lithium soaps, lithium complex and polyurea.
Simple lithium soaps are often used in low-cost general-purpose greases and perform
relatively well in most performance categories at moderate temperatures. Complex
greases such as lithium complex provide improved performance particularly at higher

operating temperatures. A common upper operating temperature limit for a simple

lithium grease might be 250F, while that for a lithium complex grease might be 350F.
Another thickener type that is becoming more popular is polyurea. Like lithium complex,
polyurea has good high-temperature performance as well as high oxidation stability and
bleed resistance. Thickener type should be selected based on performance requirements
as well as compatibility when considering changing product types.

Performance Properties
Once the appropriate base oil viscosity, additive requirements and consistency have
been determined, the remaining criteria to consider are the performance properties. This
is where the grease quality factors in. Grease performance properties include many of
the same properties used for lubricating oils, as well as others exclusive to grease.
Properties exclusive to grease include dropping point, mechanical stability, water
washout, bleed characteristics and pumpability. The most important performance
properties are determined by the application. If an application operates continuously at
room temperature, properties like dropping and upper operating temperature limits are
not as important. If an application operates under heavy loads at low speeds, load
carrying tests such as four-ball EP or Timken OK load should be considered. It is
important to remember that greases, like oils, have a careful balance of properties. A
product may excel in one category and perform poorly in another. For this reason, it is
important to weigh each propertys significance relative to the intended applications to
select the best overall fit.
Sometimes while trying to consolidate lubricants, it is easy to overconsolidate. Over
time, this can lead to inaccurate lube specifications. A generic oil spec, including
performance properties, should be configured for each lubricated point in the plant.
Armed with this generic specification, it is easy to select the right product no matter
what brand is preferred. It is also important to review these specifications on a periodic
basis to guard against specification creep. While improving a lubrication program can be
a tough job, lubricant specification is relatively easy. Armed with a little bit of knowledge
and a few widely available tools, it is possible to rest easier knowing that the right
grease is being used.