4/27/2021 Countersink - Wikipedia

Countersink
A countersink (symbol: ⌵) is a conical hole cut into a
manufactured object, or the cutter used to cut such a hole. A
common use is to allow the head of a countersunk bolt, screw or
rivet, when placed in the hole, to sit flush with or below the surface
of the surrounding material (by comparison, a counterbore makes a
flat-bottomed hole that might be used with a socket-head capscrew).
A countersink may also be used to remove the burr left from a
drilling or tapping operation thereby improving the finish of the
product and removing any hazardous sharp edges. Comparison of countersunk and
counterbored holes.
The basic geometry of a countersink (cutter) inherently can be
applied to the plunging applications described above (axial feed
only) and also to other milling applications (sideways traversal). Therefore, countersinks overlap in
form, function, and sometimes name with chamfering endmills (endmills with angled tips). Regardless
of the name given to the cutter, the surface being generated may be a conical chamfer (plunging
applications) or a beveled corner for the intersection of two planes (traversing applications).

Contents
Types
Machining
Cross-hole countersink cutter
Fluted countersink cutter
Back countersink
Speeds, feeds, and avoiding chatter
Form countersinking
See also
References
Bibliography

Types

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Normal CS angle Type of thread

60°
82° American inch screws (UNC, UNF, UNS)
90° ISO metric
British imperial inch screws (BA, BSF, BSW, etc.),
100°
Aviation fasteners
110°
120°

Machining

A countersink may be used in many tools, such as drills, drill presses, milling machines, and lathes.

Cross-hole countersink cutter

A Dan Martin Style "zero flute" countersink is a cone-shaped tool with a

cutting edge provided by a hole that goes through the side of the cone.
The intersection of the hole and cone form the cutting edge on the tool.
The cone is not truly symmetrical as it is essential that the cone retreats
away from the cutting edge as the tool rotates providing clearance. If
this does not occur the cutting edge will lack clearance and rub rather
than bite into the material. This clearance is referred to as cutting
relief.

These tools are best used as deburring tools, where the burr from a
previous machining operation needs to be removed for cosmetic and
safety reasons, however they may be used in softer materials (such as
wood or plastic) to create a countersunk hole for a screw.
Side and end view of a Weldon
Fluted countersink cutter style "zero flute" countersink

The fluted countersink cutter is used to provide a heavy chamfer in the

entrance to a drilled hole. This may be required to allow the correct seating for a countersunk-head
screw or to provide the lead in for a second machining operation such as tapping. Countersink cutters
are manufactured with six common angles, which are 60°, 82°, 90°, 100°, 110°, or 120°, with the two
most common of those being 82° and 90°. Countersunk-head screws that follow the Unified Thread
Standard very often have an 82° angle, and screws that follow the ISO standard very often have a 90°
angle. Throughout the aerospace industry, countersunk fasteners typically have an angle of 100°.

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Back countersink

A back countersink, also known as an inserted countersink, is a two

Side and end view of a 4-fluted
countersink
piece countersink used on tough to reach areas. One component is a
rod that is inserted into the existing hole in the workpieces; the other
component is the cutter, which is attached to the rod, or extends out of
it, after it is in position.[1] This is comparable to other types of "back-"
machining, such as back-spotfacing, back-boring, back-counterboring,
back-milling, and back-deburring. The common theme is
accomplishing machining operations on the far side of the workpiece
from the spindle face, which obviates a "second operation" setup. This
reduces setup time and frustration in several ways. Not only does it
obviate the flipping over, cleaning, reclamping, etc., but it also can
allow effortless high concentricity, parallelism, and squareness with the
first setup's datum without the hassle of reestablishing it on another
setup (via painstaking indicating).

Speeds, feeds, and avoiding chatter

It can often be difficult to avoid chatter (also known as machining vibrations) when cutting with
countersink cutters. As usual in machining, the shorter and more rigid the setup, the better. Better-
quality fluted countersink cutters sometimes have the flutes (or at least one flute) at an irregular
pitching. This variation in pitching reduces the chance of the cutting edges setting up a harmonic action
and leaving an undulated surface. This surface ripple is also dependent on the surface speed of the
cutting edges, material type, and applied pressure (or feed rate); once started it is hard to remove. Too
light a feed tends to increase chatter risk. As in many other machining operations, an appropriate
response to the chatter may be to decrease speed and increase feed. On a drill press, the slowest available
spindle speed is usually best. With a variable-speed handheld power drill, the trigger is best squeezed
lightly to yield a low spindle speed.

Good chatter-free results can usually be had by countersinking by hand (as opposed to running the tool
in a powered spindle). The slow speed and sensitive feed tend to prevent chatter. With a quarter-inch-
hex shank, the countersink cutter can be held with a screwdriver handle of the indexable - bit type.

Form countersinking

Form countersinking, also known as dimpling, is a countersink that is formed into sheet metal to
increase the strength of a structure as the countersinks of multiple pieces nest together. There are two
processes for producing formed countersinks: coin dimpling and modified radius dimpling.[2] Such
dimples in fairly thick sheet can even be tapped to yield a threaded hardpoint on the sheet without the
bother and expense of welding a nut to the sheet. This style of construction is often seen in modern
household appliance design, because it allows the product to be lower-priced, and the quality can still be
good as long as the sheet is thick enough.

See also
Counterbore
Speeds and feeds
Spotface
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References
1. Reithmaier 1999, p. 90.
2. Reithmaier 1999, p. 91.

Bibliography
Reithmaier, Lawrence W. (1999), Standard aircraft handbook for mechanics and technicians (https://
books.google.com/books?id=a3bloqOeFhkC) (6th ed.), McGraw-Hill Professional, ISBN 978-0-07-
134836-2.

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