I am planning to buy a bench drill (something like that one) to make small hole, 0.5-1.0 mm.
I recently used a Bosh drill and 1mm steel drill bit to make a hole on a FP4 fiberglass board, but the drill bit broke on the second hole drilling process.
Now, I will buy 0.6 mm drill bit but I am not sure what material it needs to be. Could anyone who knows these equipment tell me what material the drill bit should be made of, so that I can use the same drill bit for long? and what do you think about "Tungsten Carbide"?
Best Answer
Whatever size drill press you use, from a small Dremel press mount to a floor-standing shop drill press, you want to make sure that the chuck does not wobble. I originally used a cheap benchtop drill press, but the chuck wobbles about 1/64" (.4 mm), which is inadequate for most PCB drilling.
You should look for carbide bits instead of high speed steel (HSS). Tungsten carbide is great for PCB, but they are brittle. They won't become dull as quickly when drilling FR4 PCB material. Having a good press that doesn't wobble helps a lot in avoiding broken bits.
For holes < 1mm, sometimes even the Dremel can be too unsteady, and break bits. You might want to look for a "jewelers drill press" which is designed for small precision work.
One example is the Microlux mini drill press that Micro Mark sells, though you can find similar ones for sale on eBay.