Humvee Armor Plate Drilling

Abstract

When drilling holes in hard steel plate used in up-armor kits for Humvee light trucks, the Anniston Army Depot, Anniston, Alabama, requested the assistance of the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) to find ways to speed up operations and reduce tooling and machining costs. A Humvee up-armor kit consists of flat plates ranging in size from 4 feet x 6 feet to 3 feet x 6 feet. Hole sizes range from 0.3125 inches to 0.750 inches in diameter, and each diameter requires 4 to 14 holes. Some holes are simple through-holes, while others are tapped with threads for fasteners. After drilling, the plates are formed and shaped for installation. Anniston Depot had been using cobalt-high-speed-steel (HSS) drills while performing the drilling on a number of different machine tools. The NCDMM performed drilling tests on material meeting the armor's specifications and determined that the key to improving the operation was the application of high-performance solid carbide drills, accompanied by through-spindle coolant to control and clear chips and enhance tool life.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 07, 2004
Accession Number
ADA481854

Entities

Organizations

  • National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Armor
  • Armor Plate
  • Diameters
  • Drilling
  • Drills
  • Information Operations
  • Machine Tools
  • Machines
  • Machining
  • Manufacturing
  • Milling Machines
  • Standards
  • Technology Transfer
  • Tools

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Energy Conservation and Renewable Energy Engineering.
  • Manufacturing Engineering.