Kennametal

Kennametal offers stable, cost-effective carbide drills for high-volume and precision machining in industries like automotive and aerospace.
This article covers their products and support services.

Recommended Applications for Kennametal

Kennametal carbide drills are well suited for automotive and aerospace production lines, as well as small-lot, high-precision machining where tool life, hole quality, and cost per part are key priorities.

Kennametal combines metal-cutting expertise with wear-resistant material technology, integrating substrate, coating, coolant, and edge-geometry design into its drilling solutions. This helps support stable performance and reduce downtime caused by tool wear, chip control issues, or inconsistent hole quality.

For applications that require flat-bottom holes, selected Kennametal drills can help reduce secondary operations such as spot facing or chamfering, supporting shorter cycle times and better overall cost efficiency.

Note: Actual performance depends on tool selection, spindle speed, feed rate, coolant conditions, and machine rigidity.

How to Choose Carbide Drills
from Kennametal

For Small-Diameter Drilling

Recommended Series: GOdrill

For small-diameter drilling where cost efficiency, stable chip evacuation, and reliable hole quality matter, Kennametal’s GOdrill is a practical choice.

GOdrill is a solid carbide drill designed for small-diameter applications, offering a balance of versatility and cost efficiency for both prototyping and high-volume production.

Its design supports chip evacuation and cooling in deep holes and difficult materials, helping reduce the risk of seizure or edge failure. The marginless design reduces contact area and supports smooth feed initiation, which is especially important in micro-diameter drilling.

GOdrill can also support burr control and consistent surface finish, making it useful when small-hole quality and process stability need to be maintained over repeated production runs.

Best Fit Applications

• Small-diameter drilling
• Micro-diameter drilling where smooth feed initiation is important
• Prototyping and high-volume production
• Deep-hole drilling where chip evacuation and cooling affect process stability
• Applications requiring burr control and consistent surface finish

Compatible Materials

• Steel
• Stainless steel
• Cast iron
• Non-ferrous metals
• Heat-resistant alloys
• Hardened steel

Available Lineup

• GOdrill™ • 3×D / 5×D • Straight Shank
• GOdrill™ • 3×D / 5×D / 8×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank
• GOdrill™ • 3×D / 5×D • Whistle Notch™ Shank
• GOdrill™ • 3×D / 5×D / 8×D • Internal Coolant • Whistle Notch™ Shank

For Flat-Bottom Holes

Recommended Series: Flat Bottom Drills

For applications that require flat-bottom holes, angled-surface drilling, or fewer secondary operations, Kennametal’s Flat Bottom Drills are the more application-specific choice.

This series is designed to produce flat-bottom holes in a single operation, helping reduce secondary steps such as counterboring with end mills. It is also well suited for inclined surfaces, curved entries, and intersecting holes where flatness, accuracy, and cycle time are key priorities.

The lineup includes 3×D options and internal-coolant designs, with material-specific versions for stainless steels and heat-resistant alloys, steels and cast iron, and non-ferrous metals.

By reducing the number of tools, tool changes, and machine stoppages, this series can help lower cost per part in production environments that require consistent flat-bottom hole quality.

Best Fit Applications

• Flat-bottom hole drilling
• Inclined-surface and curved-entry drilling
• Intersecting-hole applications
• Applications where counterboring or end-mill finishing steps need to be reduced
• Mass production environments where cycle time and cost per part are key concerns

Compatible Materials

• KenDrill™ FBL: For stainless steels and heat-resistant alloys
• KenDrill™ FBG: For steels and cast iron
• KenDrill™ FBS: For non-ferrous metals, such as aluminum and copper

Available Lineup

• KenDrill™ FBL • 3×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• KenDrill™ FBG • 3×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• KenDrill™ FBS • 3×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric

For General-Purpose Production Drilling

Recommended Series: Kenna Universal™ Drill

For manufacturers that need one drill family to cover multiple materials, hole conditions, and machine setups, Kennametal’s Kenna Universal™ Drill is a flexible general-purpose option.

Kenna Universal™ is a solid carbide drill series designed for consistent performance across a wide range of materials. It can support deep holes, cross holes, angled exits, and chamfered entries without requiring pilot drills.

The 4-margin land design helps maintain hole straightness and roundness, including in cross-hole applications. Its low-thrust tip supports centering on less rigid machines, while MQL compatibility, regrinding capability, and wear-resistant grades such as KCU15 can help extend tool life and reduce inventory needs.

This makes the series useful for aerospace machining, where materials and setups often vary, as well as automotive production lines that want to standardize tooling across multiple applications.

Best Fit Applications

• General-purpose drilling across multiple materials
• Deep holes, cross holes, angled exits, and chamfered entries
• Applications where pilot drills need to be reduced or eliminated
• Aerospace machining with frequent material and setup changes
• Automotive production lines aiming to standardize tooling

Compatible Materials

• Steel
• Stainless steel
• Cast iron
• Non-ferrous metals
• Heat-resistant alloys

Available Lineup

• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 3×D • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 5×D • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 8×D • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 12×D • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • Short • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • Long • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 3×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 5×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 8×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 12×D • Internal Coolant • Straight Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 3×D • Whistle Notch™ Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 5×D • Whistle Notch™ Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 3×D • Internal Coolant • Whistle Notch™ Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 5×D • Internal Coolant • Whistle Notch™ Shank • Metric
• Kenna Universal™ Drill • 8×D • Internal Coolant • Whistle Notch™ Shank • Metric

For more detailed technical information and product comparisons, visit our special feature on carbide drills for stainless steel.
The page highlights three top manufacturers with proven strengths in stainless steel machining, including in-depth coverage of recommended tools for this demanding material.

After-Sales Support from Kennametal

Kennametal provides a range of online and direct support services for its metal-cutting tools.

These include a dedicated customer service line in the U.S., distributor locator tools, technical FAQs, and access to expert support for application optimization and troubleshooting.
Their technical support team is available to assist with selecting cutting conditions, solving machining issues, and maximizing tool performance.

Company Information

Address	525 William Penn Place Suite 3300, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone Number	+1-833-893-1514
Official Website	https://www.kennametal.com/us/en/home.html