Proving performance: inside the benchmarking of CoroDrill® DE10

When Sandvik Coromant launched the CoroDrill® DE10 in March 2025, it wasn’t simply introducing a new drilling tool. The exchangeable-tip drill was the first of its kind in high-volume hole-making, offering a plug-and-play approach and universal -M5 geometry for faster, better quality and more versatile machining. But none of these benefits carry weight without understanding how they perform in real-world situations. Here, Mikael Carlsson, Global Product Specialist for Indexable Rotating Tools at Sandvik Coromant, shows exactly what CoroDrill® DE10 can do.

The tool was developed around three core goals: ease of use, robust performance and adaptability. It features a patented tip-to-body interface and a high-strength steel drill body that together ensure maximum stability under demanding cutting parameters.

One of the tool’s defining innovations is its injection-moulded solid-carbide tip — a first for Sandvik Coromant. By adapting powder injection moulding, a process traditionally used for plastics, the team was able to engineer a more refined and consistent tool geometry. This allowed for tighter control of the drill’s centre and reinforced corner design, resulting in a tool that performs reliably even under aggressive cutting conditions.

Another crucial feature of CoroDrill® DE10 is its patented pre-tension clamping interface, which combines familiar design with enhanced security. The interface enables fast and easy tip changes without spare parts, ensures reliable drilling at high feeds and speeds, delivers superior clamping strength and achieves straighter holes with tighter tolerances without the need for a pilot drill. It also extends drill body life, making CoroDrill® DE10 the most robust exchangeable-tip drill of its kind.

But, benefits aside, a tool needs to prove its worth in real machining environments if it’s to truly transform how manufacturers approach drilling.

Making a difference across ISO P

Following its launch, Sandvik Coromant has set out to prove CoroDrill® DE10’s performance through an extensive global benchmarking programme. Over several months, four Sandvik Coromant Centres — in Sandviken, Sweden; Renningen, Germany; Chongqing, China; and Mebane, USA — conducted rigorous real-world testing. Each site applied standardised cutting parameters across materials including steels (ISO P1 and P2) and stainless steels (ISO M1), comparing CoroDrill® DE10 against the major competitors on the market.

For a complete overview of the tool’s performance, multiple properties were tested and analysed. Hole diameter, surface quality, burr height, chip formation, tool life and process security were all assessed against solutions from six competitors with each test using identical cutting data for the three tested materials.

The results were consistently in CoroDrill® DE10’s favour. In Sandviken, where high-strength ISO P2 trials pushed the drills to their limits, CoroDrill® DE10 achieved H9/H10 hole tolerances with exceptional process security, while the other two tools tested could not reach this accuracy range. CoroDrill DE10 delivers a consistent surface finish (Ra 0.8–1.3 µm) without any tool damage, while the competing tools show chipping or corner wear despite having similar surface roughness.

Other ISO P tests showed promising results. In Germany, when testing on an ISO P1 workpiece, CoroDrill® DE10 was shown to improve or maintain surface finish under optimised conditions (1.2–1.9 µm), while one competing tool worsened dramatically to 3.3–3.8 µm, even after optimisation — indicating unstable process and poor cutting edge quality. The other competitor showed inconsistent surface finish initially and was not tested further due to poor performance.

The wear images from Chongqing clearly demonstrate that CoroDrill® DE10 maintains the most stable and predictable wear pattern compared to competitors. CoroDrill® DE10 showed only light flank wear and minor abrasion after 41 m of drilling, and no edge breakage was observed. The wear was uniform and predictable, indicating controlled cutting forces and stable chip evacuation. On the other hand, one competitor reached a similar cutting length, but exhibited corner breakage and edge damage. This type of brittle wear indicates instability, likely caused by chip adhesion or micro-fracture at the cutting edge. Another showed severe wear even earlier at just 38 m, including chipping on the cutting edge and poor coating integrity.

Mastering accuracy in ISO M

CoroDrill® DE10’s strengths were also demonstrated when testing ISO M materials. Over in Mebane, the tool consistently outperformed both a competitor’s solution by achieving the best balance of accuracy, surface quality, stability and tool life.

In testing, CoroDrill® DE10 delivered a precise hole diameter within 13.03–13.05 millimeters, while maintaining a smooth surface finish of Ra 0.7–1.0 µm. It completed over 52.5 m of drilling without reaching its tool life limit — unlike the other tools, which both reached their wear limits at the same cutting length.

Results for ISO M1 were strong in Sandviken too. CoroDrill® DE10 exceeded 76 m of drilling and still had usable tool life left, while the competitor failed earlier at just 53 meters with chip formation beginning to deteriorate. The tool also consistently held hole diameters at 13-13.02 mm, meeting H9/H10 tolerance classes. The competing tool, however, produced slightly undersized holes of 12.99-13.02 mm. While a fractional difference, even the smallest deviances in hole size can risk assembly issues for workpieces in real world scenarios.

It’s one matter bringing a new concept to market, but proving its abilities against its competing solutions brings a whole other challenge. The innovations behind CoroDrill® DE10 don’t just sound exciting — they’re proven to make a real difference to high volume hole making.