10/12/2020 How to Choose the Best Drill Type for Your Next Job

7/1/2005 | 8 MINUTE READ

Business Continuity - Where's The Access

Business Continuity should be designed as an integral part of an organization's migration to access infrastructure.
Planning for access significantly reduces the complexity and cost of implementing a business continuity solution while
elevating the probability of its success.

I recently stopped at a Jack in the Box drive-through and was pleased to learn that they had a vegetarian burger
available that evening. I ordered the sandwich and drove off. It was only later that I discovered that the
vegetarian burger was simply a normal hamburger minus the beef patty-in other words, just buns.A much
more serious surprise awaits many companies attempting to reestablish business continuity following a
disaster.

According to a 2003 survey by EMC/Roper ASW, two-thirds of U.S. business executives believe they would
resume normal operations within 24 hours. Their IT executives are only a little less optimistic, putting the
figure at three days. The reality is much worse. Meta Group says that most businesses that suffer a catastrophe
such as a fire or flood are out of business within two years. This is supported by the National Archives &
Records Administration who reports that 93 percent of businesses that lose their data center for 10 days go
bankrupt within a year. A study by McGladrey and Pullen shows that 43 percent of companies experiencing
disasters never recover. Why the gap in expectations versus reality? The answer has largely to do with access.
Without a viable access strategy in place, even sophisticated business continuity plans result in extended
periods of downtime. Following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, hundreds of thousands of
employees were evacuated from Manhattan for up to a week. While many organizations utilized data center
recovery sites to successfully and quickly restore mission-critical applications and data, their employees were
unable to work because their loaner PCs did not have the required client software installed and configured. 

Business Discontinuity
Business continuity plans that fail to address the problem of access are grossly deficient. It does not matter how
much money and time is spent perfecting a strategy to restore back-end systems if users have no way to access
those systems. In a conventional distributed PC architecture, though, it tends to be both complex and expensive
to incorporate the access component. Suppose, for example, that following a disaster a company's disaster
recovery site successfully deploys the mission- critical Windows-based enterprise resource planning (ERP)
application. IT still has the problem of how to give users secure access to the new location, and how to ensure
that the data center facility, the network, and all the hardware and integrated software are recovered in a
synchronized fashion. If users are not able to physically get to their PCs, then the company faces obstacles
similar to the Manhattan companies following 9/11. Many client/server applications require specific client
configurations that are not easily duplicated on loaner PCs. And despite common company policies to the
contrary, users are prone to keep at least some corporate data on their local drives-meaning that the business
continuity plan is ineffective for accessing this data.  The complexity of the access issue further increases when
factoring in remote facilities. Remote office personnel frequently feel like second- class citizens when it comes
to IT infrastructure. They are more likely to receive equipment hand-me-downs from headquarters, and are
less likely to receive upgrades. This diverse set of older equipment can create a problem for IT in establishing
business continuity in the event of a serious problem at the local office.  IT may find, for example, that
recovering and synchronizing remote office data is difficult when the location equipment is not easily replaced.
Tape backups may not be regularly performed or not regularly rotated off-site and, if they are, may still utilize
out-of-date software versions. In order to establish a successful business continuity plan, business continuity
professionals must designate responsibility at a corporate or regional level for the actual recovery in the field.

They must also identify off-site vendors, manufacturers and telecommunications vendors that can coordinate a
recovery scenario to ensure that the right connections are made to the right data center. In many
organizations, IT addresses the disaster recovery issues around data access by centralizing the backup of both
PCs and of remote office servers. This solution, though, tends to be expensive to implement and maintain, and
it fails to address the other access challenges such as connectivity to the backup data center, suitable physical
work locations loaner PCs, and the problems of recovering outdated equipment or system parameters.
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Business Continuity with Access Infrastructure

Fortunately, the complex business continuity problems around access can be largely resolved with a simple
shift in computing paradigms to a centralized architecture. Not only does centralization significantly simplify
the business continuity requirements, but  it typically generates more than  enough savings to easily
incorporate a sophisticated business continuity plan. Business continuity, in fact, can almost be considered a
byproduct of access infrastructure. The concept of running Windows applications in a centralized hosted model
was originally referred to as thin- client, although it has both expanded and evolved into an enterprise
architecture now known as access infrastructure (AI). The AI market as a whole continues to grow rapidly-at 12
percent, twice the rate of the overall software market-and includes scores of software producers, Windows
terminal manufacturers, bandwidth management providers, administration tool suppliers, and many other
manufacturers. Under AI, users enjoy secure, seamless access to their software  and centrally-managed data
regardless of location, computing device, or the networks that the data must traverse. Very little bandwidth is
required  (about 15K - 30K per session) because only screen prints, keyboard strokes, and mouse clicks actually
travel  across data lines. Users with a broadband connection at home typically experience the same
performance as when directly connected to their organization's high-speed LAN.

Figure 1 shows a simple schematic of an AI architecture. While the diagram shows an active/passive strategy
utilizing a disaster recovery center running the same servers as the primary data center, it is just one example
of many potential back-end scenarios. The schematic shows both PC-based applications and Web-based
applications hosted on central servers utilizing a Microsoft Terminal Server platform. In practice, many users
will still run select local applications, but the now virtual desktop is no longer constrained to a specific PC. This
"decoupling" of the desktop from the physical PC means that the desktop follows the user around to any
location or to any device. As long as they can get to a browser, users securely access their virtual desktop-
including applications, data and shortcuts.  Access infrastructure reduces the cost and complexity of business
continuity by ensuring and simplifying access to data in a recovery situation. Business continuity professionals
no longer need be concerned with how to provide users with access to their own PCs, or to any PC at all. If a
headquarters building becomes inaccessible due to a fire, hurricane, or other problem, a user can simply go
home, go to an Internet café or even go to an airport kiosk and log on securely to his virtual desktop. 
Connectivity limitations are also minimized in the AI environment because the Internet itself becomes the fall-
back transport medium in the event of a catastrophe. Utilizing SSL-VPN tunneling enables users to quickly
connect to the system without requiring the cumbersome steps of setting  up an IPSEC based VPN. Figure 1
shows the remote offices and employees utilizing the Internet to connect to the disaster recovery site- although,
as shown in the diagram, it can also serve as the connectivity medium to the primary data center. AI simplifies
remote office recovery because it eliminates the need for servers and supporting infrastructures. These servers
are instead consolidated into a much smaller number of servers located in central data centers. Figure 1 shows
an example of a remote office utilizing only a switch and a router to connect to the data center. Without
requiring local servers that are vulnerable to failure, a remote office is far less likely to suffer downtime. If the
office becomes inaccessible due to fire, flooding, etc., the users can continue to access their virtual desktops just
as easily from another office, from home or even from an Internet cafe- anywhere they can get to a browser. 

Funding Business Continuity with Access Infrastructure

The great benefit about implementing business continuity as part of an access strategy is that in most cases the
process of virtualizing the client pays for the implementation of business continuity and a lot more. The bulk of
the savings tend to come from extending the lifecycle and simplifying the administration of PCs and from
consolidating the network infrastructures of the remote offices.  Gartner performed a study of 25 organizations
running AI (utilizing the Microsoft Terminal platform along with Citrix software) across 25 industries on five
continents, and showed an average "hard" savings payback of 7.5 months. Figure 2 shows a typical relative
amount of savings that a government agency realized by migrating to AI. Our own studies show that the
average organization saves about $700 per user per year by implementing an access strategy. For most sizable
organizations, therefore, a small portion of the savings generated by migrating to access infrastructure will
fund a business continuity plan - particularly since the access component is no longer an issue. In fact, business
continuity can almost be considered a byproduct of implementing access infrastructure.

Business Continuity As Part of an  Access Strategy

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All too often, organizations view business continuity as an isolated project-and an unpopular one at that, given
its huge requirements for both staffing and monetary resources. Rigid testing of the efficacy of business
continuity implementations tends to be both time consuming and expensive, undoubtedly helping to account
for the low rate of successful sustained recoveries following a catastrophe. Business continuity should be
designed as an integral part of an organization's migration to access infrastructure. Planning for access
significantly reduces the complexity and cost of implementing a business continuity solution while elevating
the probability of its success. Furthermore, its cost is more than offset by the savings generated by migrating to
access infrastructure.  Thinking about access at a strategic level enables organizations to benefit from the
consolidation, simplification, and standardization that access infrastructure enables. The process of
centralization improves security and enhances the user computing experience, thereby improving employee
productivity and enabling truly effective business continuity.

10/1/2020 | 6 MINUTE READ

How to Choose the Best Drill Type for Your Next Job
Sponsored Content

Five questions to ask when deciding between solid carbide drills or replaceable insert.

Holemaking is a pretty common procedure in any machine shop, but selecting the best type of cutting tool for
each job isn’t always clear cut. You want a drill that caters to the workpiece material, produces the specs
required, and ultimately provides the most profit for the job at hand.

Selecting the Right Drill Type with Allied Machine

01:37

So, which drill provides the most value? When it comes down to the variety of jobs manufactured in your
machine shop, there is no “one-drill-fits-all.” According to experts from Allied Machine & Engineering, you
can simplify the process by considering five criteria when choosing between two big players in the world of
metal-cutting: solid drills and replaceable insert drills.

Is your next contract long-term or a short run?

Ask yourself if this particular job is a high production run of the same part or is it a custom prototype or small
batch of components?

If you are running a long-term, repeatable process, invest in a replaceable insert drill, like the T-A Pro™ drill
manufactured by Allied Machine and Engineering. Commonly referred to as a spade drill or replaceable tip
drill, these drills are engineered so that machine operators have the ability to change out the worn cutting edge
quickly. This reduces the overall cost per hole in these types of high production runs. The initial investment of
the drill body (insert holder) is recouped quickly by the reduction of cycle time and cost of replacing inserts
versus the cost of new solid tooling. Simply put, speed of changeout coupled with a lower long-term cost of
ownership makes replaceable insert drills the better choice for your high production jobs.

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If your next project is a short run or custom prototype, then a solid drill is the better choice predominantly due
to the initial low cost. Since you’re not likely to wear the tool out while machining smaller jobs, the ease of
cutting edge replacement is irrelevant. For a short run, the replaceable tool is likely to have a higher initial cost
than its solid cousin so it may not pay dividends to invest. Lead time can be better for the solid tool as well,
depending on your source for these products. Between solid carbide drills like the ASC 320® and Superion®
lines of solid carbide tooling, you’ll be able to machine a wide range of holemaking applications with
efficiency and cost-savings.

Superion offers custom solid carbide tools which can be engineered to combine multiple steps in one tool for reduced cycle times.

How much stability is required for this job?

Consider the dimensional stability of a reground solid tool vs replacing the worn cutting edge with a fresh
blade. Unfortunately, with a reground tool, the diameters and lengths of the tool no longer match the original
version. When you regrind a tool, it is smaller in diameter and the overall length is shorter. The reground tool
is used more often as a roughing tool at this point, and a new solid tool is needed to meet the required finished
dimensions in the workpiece. By using the reground tool, you add another step to the manufacturing process to
make use of a tool that no longer satisfies the finished dimensions. This ultimately increases your cost per hole
in each part being made.

Are there inventory requirements to consider?

Tool float is the total number of tools in the machine shop environment needed to avoid downtime. In order to
keep the job running, you need to maintain a certain amount of tool float inventory. This includes tools at the
machine, back ups in the tool crib, and even tooling waiting to be reground. Let’s look at two scenarios.

Scenario one – Currently you need to keep three solid drills at the machine to maintain uptime for this job. You
have 12 on hand in the tool crib in case of catastrophic failure as well as six out for regrind at any given time.
In this situation you need 21 solid carbide drills in the system to keep the machine running.

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Scenario two – For the same job in scenario one, you only need two replaceable drill bodies and four inserts at
the machine and four bodies and 12 inserts in the tool crib. Since you won’t have to accommodate for tools out
for regrind, you can keep the same job running smoothly while significantly reducing the amount of inventory
needed.

How important is performance for this particular job?

Any machine operator knows that solid drills can be run at higher feeds than indexable tools of the same
diameter. Solid cutting tools are stronger and more rigid as they have no connection to fail over time. At times
though, machinists opt to use uncoated solid drills in order to reduce time invested in regrinds and lead times
on reorders. Unfortunately, using uncoated tools reduces the superior speed and feed capabilities of a solid
cutting tool. At this point, the performance gap between solid drills and replaceable insert drills is almost
negligible, so take this into consideration when making your decision.

Finally, what is the overall cost per hole?

Let’s talk about tool life and cost of ownership again. The job size, initial cost of the tool, downtime for
changeouts, regrinds and touch-offs, and number of steps in the application process are all variables in the cost
of ownership equation.

Solid drills are a smart choice for short runs due to their lower initial cost. Generally, small jobs don’t wear a
tool out before they are complete. This means there isn’t any downtime from changeouts, regrinds and touch-
offs.

A drill designed with replaceable cutting edges can offer a lower cost of ownership over the life of the tool for
long-term contracts and high production runs. The savings start when the cutting edge is worn or damaged
because there is no need to order the whole tool, you only pay for the insert (a.k.a. blade).

Another cost savings variable is the amount of machine time saved or spent when changing out cutting tools.
The replaceable insert drill’s diameter and length are not affected by changing out the cutting edge, but since
the solid drill needs reground when it’s worn, solid tools should be touched off when replaced. While this only
takes a minute, it’s a minute that you aren’t producing parts.

The last variable in the cost of ownership equation is the number of steps in the holemaking process.
Replaceable insert drills can usually complete the process to spec in a single operation. As was mentioned
earlier, many applications that incorporate solid drills add a finishing operation after using the reground tool
in order to meet the job’s requirements. In reality, it may be an unnecessary step that adds machining cost to
the part produced.

Overall, most machine shops need a good selection of drill types. Most industrial tooling suppliers offer
guidance in selection of the best drill for a particular job and tooling manufacturers have free resources
like worksheets for determining the cost per hole to help aid in the decision process as well.

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