Drilling and punching are the two methods that are most often opted by people to make holes in wood, metal, or wall. Both are very similar but each has its own applications. Punching is a shearing method that is used to create holes with the help of sharp-edged hardened tools. Unwanted material is sheared away with the application of force.
Drilling is not a shearing process and removes material with the use of a drill bit. The hole is formed by continuously removing layers of material. Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages. But drilling is usually preferred over punching in most cases.
There are plenty of reasons why drilled holes are better and one of them is the circulation can be established in a much better way and the drilled holes make a better finishing. Also, the best part about the drilling process is it’s affordable. Most of them charge very less to drill holes as it’s a very quick process and you don’t have to spend much time on it.
There is a lot of confusion about which method is better and that is why we have prepared a complete guide looking into why drilled holes are a better option than puncturing.
Difference Between Drilling and Punching
Hole punching is a shearing technique to make holes. In hole punching, sharp-edged tools that have been hardened are used to shear off the extra product or material using manual, hydraulic, electrical, or pneumatic force. There are many different sizes and types of hole-punching equipment.
Drilling doesn’t require shearing. Using a drill bit to remove material is called drilling. The drill bit is a long, pointed device that frequently has flutes, although depending on the task, it may have different properties.
The drill bit spins swiftly when friction is applied, and the cutting blades remove a small amount of material with each rotation. Drill presses are frequently used to exert force on drills, but other tools such as hand drills may also be employed.
With the help of drilling, you remove the material. The force applied during the drilling process is usually done through a drill machine also known as a drill press. There are many different sizes of drill bits and you can choose any of the drill bits according to your requirements.
The other key advantage of using a drilling method is the speed. When you are using a drill machine you can make a hole in no time and that is why most of us prefer using a drill machine over punching.
Why Are Drilled Holes Preferred Over Punched Holes?
Drilling is commonly used in a wide variety of applications. Many use it for low-cost production or maintenance chores because it is a reasonably affordable method. There are many reasons why drilled holes are preferred over punched holes. Some of them are discussed below.
1. Cheaper
Drill bits can be produced in any size and tolerance and are quite cheap. The method is affordable enough to be used for any type of use. Punching holes are comparatively costlier and are suitable only for mass production in industries. You can easily make a hole under 0.5$ by using a drill machine and that is why it’s mostly recommended.
The cost of the drill might differ on the type of material on which you are going to drill. However, It would be less expensive than puncturing holes.
2. Works in a variety of material
Drills can be used on practically any material that is often used, including metals, wood, polymers, ceramics, and almost any other substance.
This is one of the main advantages of using a drill machine as there is no such specific material on which you can drill. You can use a drill machine to drill on almost any surface.
On the other hand, punched holes cannot be used in exceptionally hard or brittle materials like ceramics and composites; instead, they are typically used in metals and some types of polymers.
When the material is very hard you would face a lot of difficulties when you are trying to puncture holes manually. Even when you are trying to make a hole manually you will go wrong and might slip and hurt your fingers.
3. Requires Less Pressure
While drilling, a drill bit is spun to create a circular cross-sectional hole in solid materials.
While rotating at speeds ranging from hundreds to thousands of revolutions per minute, the bit is forced against the workpiece and therefore requires less pressure.
When a hole is punched, a die and punch set is forced into the workpiece with great force, tearing out the hole as the punch moves linearly through the workpiece.
When you use a drill machine there is less chance of getting injuries as you are not applying much pressure while using the drill machine.
4. Faster
It’s obvious when you are using a drill machine you can make a hole in just seconds and when you are trying to make a hole by puncturing it will take a lot of time and effort.
Puncturing is a manual process and it will take a lot of manual work and time.
5. Lower Distortion
When you are using a drill machine there is always less component distortion that occurs when layers of material are scraped sequentially as opposed to all at once.
6. Can Tackle Extremely Thick Material
Depending on the hardness of the die and punch and their capacity to bear the intense compressive stresses, punched holes are normally restricted to modest thickness.
With the help of a drill machine, you can puncture even a thick material like grade-A steel easily.
Top 5 Best Drill Machines For Home & Professional Use
If you are looking for the best drill machines then here I have provided some of the best drill machines and the drill bits.
You can get one of them according to your requirements.
- Denali high-quality cordless drill machine
- 20V Powerconnect cordless drill driver
- INSPIRITECH 21V Cordless drill with batteries
- Comeware 20V eclectic power drill with batteries
- Teccpo cordless power drill set
Conclusion
Drilling is always preferred over puncturing. However, If you don’t have a drill machine you can always get it from a hardware store or use the above Amazon links to checkout.
If you are using the manual process of making a hole then make sure you puncture with proper safety as it can very dangerous if you are new.
Many times, I have hurt my fingers just because of using the manual process and that is why we never recommended the process.
We hope that the information provided above would have helped you in figuring out the difference between a drilled hole and a punctured hole.
If you have any queries, you can ask in the comment section below.
FAQ: Difference Between Drilled Holes And Punctured Holes
There are a lot of questions asked by a lot of people and there are some of the most commonly asked questions we have provided suitable answers. You can read this section to clear your doubts.
Q1. Why Do We Do Center Punch Before Drilling?
Ans: The center punch is a tool that has a pointed end and that makes dimples on the right place where you want to drill a hole.
Q2. Does drilling a hole in steel weaken The Steel?
Ans: Drilling a single hole won’t reduce the strength and rigidity of the steel. However, If you are drilling multiple holes it can reduce the axial strength of the steel sheet.
Q3. Is It Better To Drill Faster or Slower Through Metal?
Ans: Well, It’s always a good idea to drill slowly through meta at a low speed it. Hard and thick metal require an, even more, slower speed of drilling.
Possible Makita Cordless Track Saw