What are the different types of drill bit point?

The most popular four types of drill point style are standard drill point, notched thinned point, thinned S point and split point. Further information on these different drill point styles are detailed below.

Standard / General Purpose Drill Point

A universally used drill point which is strong in nature and features significant resistance to knocks and side pressure. This point style is common in steel and plastic industries. Standard drill points often feature a 118° point angle. The wide flute land requires increased feed pressure and centering is recommended or in fixturing applications, a drill bush. When drilling with a standard point always use a pilot which should be 20% of the final drilling size.

Split Point Drill

Split point drills are suitable for almost all materials and are increasingly the point of choice in precision manufacturing industries. The points ability to remain stable, prevent wondering with excellent centering, and high accuracy in tough and hard materials, is the core reason for its popularity. The split point drill requires less cutting force than other points and features better chip removal through chip separation. Unlike the standard drill point, the split point is self-centering and therefore doesn’t require predrilling in the majority of applications. This point can also be found on deep hole drills and is an advanced form of cutting point.

Notched Thinned Drill Point

Originally developed for heavy duty drilling applications the thinned point drill bit is universal in its use across metals and plastics. Often found on wider diameter drills, the thinned point has good self-centering properties and requires less cutting force than a standard point drill.

Thinned S Point

The thinned S point can cope with high uninterrupted feeds with superior chip separation and disbursement. Like Split Point drill bits, the thinned S point has a superior level of self-centering and a high level of accuracy. The thinned point reduces the cutting forces required for the drill to operate effectively. There is less need for predrilling operations and this point can be used for deep hole drilling.