Trick-Tools specializes in tube benders, cold saws, iron workers and sheet metal brakes and shears. But what caught our eye at IMIS 2012 wasn’t any of their machinery, rather it was a new tool called the Flowdrill which creates a replacement for traditional fastening methods such as nut-serts or weld-on nuts and bungs.

“The bit uses friction to drill a hole in any medal and pushes it into a shape that you can run a tap down into,” Explained Bruce Van Sant of Trick-Tools. “It works on Aluminum, chrome moly, stainless steel, and mild steel.

Flowdrill is a solid tungsten carbide tool, which uses friction to form material into a cylindrical or cone shape. This formed hole can then be tapped or used for a reinforced bearing or bushing surface.

Flowdrill can be used in drill presses, CNC machines or even high speed hand drills for small holes.

“We sell a starter kit, that comes with everything you need to be able to attach this to any drill press,” Van Sant told us. “It is a new product for us, but it has been in the United States for about 15 years mostly within OEM manufacturing.”

Uses:

• O2 or EGT sensor installations
• brackets
• tabs
• sheet metal fastening

 It was amazing to see how simple and fast it could be to drill and tap a hole with the Flowdrill. For more information on the complete line of products from Trick Tools visit their home on the web at Trick-tools.com.