S.

Saha
Associate Professor and Coordinator of
Bioengineering,
Mem. ASME

S.Pal
Research Associate,
Mem. ASME;
on leave from the Department of Mechanical
Engineering,
Jadavpur University,
Calcutta, India

J. A. Albright
Professor and Head.
Biomechanics Laboratory,
Louisiana State University Medical Center,
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery,
Shreveport, La. 71130

Surgical Drilling: Design and

Performance of an Improved Drill1
The majority of twist drills used in orthopaedics are very similar to chisel pointed
metal drilling bits. Modifications usually observed are reduction of the point angle
to 90 deg and sometimes grinding of the entire cutting lip at 0 deg rake angle, which
appeared to have been made arbitrarily without any advantage. We have attempted
to design a surgical drill bit with the objective of minimization of the drilling thrust
and temperature and effective removal of bone chips. Our results showed that the
presence of the chisel edge was mainly responsible for increasing the thrust force
and the temperature developed. The effects of a constant feed rate and thrust on the
peak temperature were also examined. The combined effect of the helix and the
point angles on the rake angle which in turn determines the cutting efficiency was
analyzed for various types of surgical bits. Based on our results and previously
published data from the literature an optimized drill bit was designed with a split
point, a point angle of 118 deg, a parabolic flute, and a helix angle of 36 deg and its
performance was compared with other existing surgical drill bits. For drilling in
compact bone, the new design decreased the thrust load by 45 percent and thefpeak
temperature rise by 41 percent. Simlar improvements were also recorded for drilling
bone cement. The time of drilling a bone cortex was also significantly reduced and
"walking " on the curved bone surface was eliminated and dimensional tolerance on
hole sizes was improved. The new design is likely to reduce the time of surgery and
also minimize the tissue damage.

Introduction
Human skeletons from early civilizations, displayed in
museums, sometimes show surgically produced holes in their
skulls, obviously performed with crude tools. In modern
times bone drilling re-entered orthopaedic surgery and, as
early as 1886, Hansman drilled bone to fix a fracture with
metal plates [1]. In 1912, Sherman improved this technique,
but no systematic study on the development of a more suitable
drilling tool was conducted until Bechtol [2] recommended
changes in the design of tool bits, based on his surgical experience. In 1964, Sneath [3] identified the requirements of
surgical drill bits and suggested standards, but unfortunately,
no experimental data was presented. Subsequently, interest in
the design of bone drills increased and experiments by Jacob,
et al. [4] and Wiggins and Malkin [5] showed that drills
designed according to Bechtol's recommendation required
greater cutting force and higher energy than some other types
of drills. Jacob, et al. [4] compared the performance of seven
different drill designs ranging in speed from 100 to 2360 rpm
and with feed rates of 0.254, 0.508, and 1.27 mm/min.
Nevertheless, his design recommendations did not strictly
This new drill bit for surgical use is presently available from BIOMET, Box
587, Airport Industrial Park, Warsaw, IN 46580.
Contributed by the Bioengineering Division and presented in part at the
Winter Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 15-20, 1981, of THE

relate to his experimental results. He, for example, recommended a 90-deg point angle drill bit, despite his findings that
a 110-deg point angle drill bit yielded less thrust and torque.
He offered no reasons for his judgment overriding his results.
The process of drilling bone produces heat which, if excessive, produces tissue necrosis [6]. This is often evident by
the presence of a ring sequestra in the radiographs of bones
with drilled holes. One of the reasons for this high temperature rise is that surgical drill bits are adapted from
existing metal drills with minor modifications, e.g., reduced
point angle and web-thinning. However, Sneath [3] has shown
that many of these modifications did not improve the performance of surgical drills. Also, it has not been definitely
established what the optimum cutting speed should be, to
maintain temperatures below the threshold level of thermal
damage.
In the present study the performance of surgical drills was
analyzed for various geometrical parameters of the drill bit,
concentrating primarily on the temperatures generated and on
the thrust loads developed, since these two factors are of
special significance in surgical drilling. The contributions of
the rake angle, point angle, helix angle, flute geometry, chisel
edge, etc., were considered. Based on these considerations, an
optimized drill bit was designed and its performance with
respect to the temperature generated and the thrust load was
compared with other existing surgical drill bits.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS; at the 34th ACEMB Meeting,

Houston, Texas, September 21-23, 1981; and at the 28th Annual Meeting of the
Orthopaedic Research Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, Jan. 1982. Manuscript
received by the Bioengineering Division, July 20, 1981; revised manuscript
received April 16,1982.

Functional Requirements
Drilling is the process of producing holes in solid material;

Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

AUGUST 1982, Vol. 104/245

Copyright 1982 by ASME

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surgical drills create holes in bone for fixation of various

implants. Drills perform multiple functions such as direct
penetration into cortical bone, removal of bone chips from
the cutting zone, advancement in the direction of movement,
and production of a uniform size hole. The geometry required
for these multiple functions is incorporated in the design of a
twist drill.
Commercially available twist drills designed for use on
metal can also be used to drill bone, but the performance is
not optimum because the mechanical behavior of bone tissue
differs widely from that of metal. The ideal design
requirement for drilling bone differs significantly from the
industrial requirements for drilling metal [7]. For instance, it
is not always possible to locate a flat surface when drilling a
hole in bone nor is it always practicable to use a jig or a guide.
Therefore, a surgical drill should be self-centering and it
should not "walk" when initiating a hole in the cortex of a
tubular long bone since it is not practicable to indent a pilot
center as is done in metal drilling. At times the drill must be
quite long compared to its diameter, but it should not deflect
under the operating thrust load, which perferably should also
be kept low to minimize the danger of breakage and the
possibility of tissue damage.
The heat generated during drilling of bone is partially
dissipated by the presence of blood and tissue fluids, and part
of the heat is carried away by the chips formed. However,
bone is a poor conductor of heat and the temperature rise
could be significantly high [6-8]. Moritz and Henrique [9]
established that (a) a temperature of 70 C will damage
epithelial cells immediately, (b) a temperature of 55 C will do
so after 30 s, and (c) a temperature of 45"C requires more
than 5 hr to produce the harmful effect. Therefore, the
geometry of the drill bit should be such that heat generation
due to the noncutting action of the cutting edge or friction
from the flutes, is avoided or minimized.
As a twist drill rotates and penetrates bone, chips are
formed which follow the two spiral paths along the flutes to
the surface. The flutes of twist drill bits often tend to clog
when the depth of the hole being drilled becomes appreciable
compared to its diameter. Once clogged, the friction increases
excessively and overheating or even charring of the organic
matrix of bone may result [10]. Wiggins and Malkin [5], using
a general purpose twist drill, have shown that the cutting
torque and the specific cutting energy increase with increasing
hole depth while drilling bone in the axial direction. The
torque varies linearly and the energy exponentially. The
torque may increase further with clogging. Therefore, the
design of the drill flute should be such that it avoids clogging
and minimizes friction. For rapid completion of surgical
drilling, flutes eliminate the need for "woodpeckering," i.e.,
periodic withdrawal of the drill for chip removal. Ideally, the
rate of penetration or (feed rate) should be high, while the
thrust or end load remains within tolerable limits (2 to 3 kgf)
[3], Wiggins and Malkin [5] showed that the "specific cutting

energy," i.e., the energy expended per unit volume of

material removed in the form of chips, decreases with increasing feed rate at a given speed of drilling. Therefore, a
drill bit which allowed faster penetration (a greater feed rate)
at a given thrust load would have definite advantages for
surgical drilling. A lower thrust load also decreases the
likelihood of buckling of the drill. This can be important for
surgical drills since the l/d ratio may be quite high, e.g.,
40-50, where / is the length and d is the diameter of the drill
bit [11].

Mechanics of Drilling and Design Analysis

A twist drill containing two lips, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,
can be simulated as a combination of two single-edged turning
tools twisted to meet at the chisel edge. The mechanism of
chip formation in drilling is quite complex as the cutting
conditions vary along the entire cutting edge from axis to
periphery. The chisel edge at the center does not cut in the
ordinary sense (shear). It displaces the material ahead of it
resembling the action of a small indenting chisel while the
outer edge of the cutting lip (Fig. 2) produces a smooth chip.
Thus the chisel edge, where cutting velocity is low and the
rake angle highly negative, greatly increases the thrust during
drilling. The cutting velocity is given by ird/N where d-, is the
diameter at any intermediate position and N is the rpm.
Figure 2 shows the average force system acting on one of
the cutting lips during drilling. The resultant cutting force R is
resolved into three orthogonal directions, X-Y-Z. Pz is the
principal cutting force which coincides with the cutting
velocity direction, and the drilling torque is mainly due to this
force. Px is the thrust force at the cutting edge acting in the
feed direction, and Py is a radial force which balances a
similar force acting on the other lip. The presence of the chisel
edge, which does not have any cutting action, except some
sort of extrusion effect, gives rise to a considerable amount of
thrust force.
In the analysis of drilling thrust force, Px is the component
due to the cutting action of the edge. However the total thrust
force consists of the cutting thrust and the thrust due to the
extrusion effect at the chisel edge plus the frictional force at
the edge. Experimentally (details shown later) we have shown
that, a pilot hole with a diameter equal to the width of the
chisel edge, decreases the total thrust force by 50 percent or
more when drilling bone or bone cement. This is a very important consideration for achieving improved performance in
the new design of a surgical bit.

CHISEL EDGE
LAND WIDTH
i
/
\
^ ^ ^ \ V DRILL
k
/ %; I *! S \y DIAMETER
L_^.
^A^
L_
POINT ANGLE/ /

LIP CLEARANCE C " I S E L

HELIX ANGLE

^ - ~ / -*
^--FLUTES-/

-f K

i=f
|

Cutting Lip

E
\

" g l ^
_~_/

MARGIN*" I ) / /
/ X ^ / L^

>
g

/WEB-7~STV?CHISEL EDGE - * ^

Fig. 1 Three views of a conventional 2-lip twist drill showing its important functional geometrical parameters

Fig. 2 The resultant cutting force R on one of the lips is resolved into
three orthogonal components: Px (thrust force), Py (radial force) and P z
(principal cutting force). Section AA shows the clearance and the rake
angle at any position of the cutting edge, the bone chip and the plane
of shearing of the chip. The positive, zero and negative rake angles (7)
are shown in a section of tool at the right.

246/Vol. 104, AUGUST 1982

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Transactions of the ASME

Table 1 Thermal properties of bone and surgical drill bit [12]

Density,
Kg/m3

Sp. heat,
J/kgC

Heat
capacity,
J/m 3 C

Thermal
conductivity,
J/m sC

Thermal
diffusivity,
m 2 /s

Stainless
steel

7.8X103

0.46 X 10'

3.6x10

14

3.9x10"'

Fresh
cortical
bone (human)

2.1xl0 J

\.26xW

2.65x10

0.38-2.3

0.144x10"

Material

An orthogonal section AA (Fig. 2) on the cutting lip shows

the rake and clearance angles on the cutting edge of the drill
bit, both of which vary along the edge. The bone material
undergoes plastic deformation along the shear plane
producing chips which flow on the rake face, and most of the
mechanical work of the cutting process is converted into heat.
The rate of heat generation depends on the various
parameters of the cutting process (velocity, feed rate and the
shear strength of the material); and this in turn influences the
temperature of the tool, bone and chips, depending on their
relative thermal properties, which are shown in Table 1.
The general formula correlating the tool and chip interface
temperature Tt with five other physical variables was
developed [13] using dimensional analysis and is given by
equation (1).
C0Ksv2"A"
T,= J. , ,_
(1)
W2nh\

0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2

0.1-

o 5

-0.1
-0.2
-0,3
-0.4
-0.5

Fig. 3 Variation of the orthogonal rake angle in radians along the

cutting edge at any intermediate diameter d x for a drill of overall
diameter d (3.2 mm or 1/8 in.). The right side of the scale is applicable
for the NF x 4 drill bit which is the new bit.

where
Ks
v
A
W
h

specific cutting energy

cutting velocity
chip cross-sectional area
thermal conductivity of work material (bone)
thermal capacity (density x specific heat) of work
material

C0 and n are constants dependent on the foregoing

parameters and they can be obtained experimentally, n =
0.22-0.40 for metal cuting [13]. From equation (1), it may be
observed that the temperature T, is directly proportional to
the specific cutting energy Ks, which in turn is dependent on
the dynamic shear strength of the bone material since cutting
is a dynamic shear failure process [13-16]. The specific
cutting energy increases with increase of dynamic shear
strength for brittle materials [14]. Due to the brittle nature of
bone, this may also be true for bone. The thermal capacity
and the conductivity of bone material (values shown in Table
1) constitute the other important factors affecting the temperature rise. They have an inverse relationship with the
temperature, (equation (1)) so that the lower they are the
higher the temperature. The thermal conductivity of the tool
material has little effect on the temperature. During metal
drilling the metal chip carries nearly 85 percent or more of the
heat produced [13]. Therefore, unlike metal drilling, the
temperature of the bone will be relatively higher during
drilling due to its poor thermal capacity and conductivity
since chips will carry a smaller percentage of heat. It should be
pointed out that, compared to metal, the total heat generated
under identical cutting conditions will be much less during
bone drilling due to its lower Ks value. This is an important
consideration for bone drill design.
Geometrical Parameters of Twist Drills and Their
Effect on Cutting Force
Rake Angle. The various cutting angles of a twist drill can
be simulated by a single point turning tool, visualizing the
drill as a combination of cutting edges twisted to meet at the
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

Drill type
Mx3
Mx5
0x1
Qx2
NFx4

Helix angle, 6
13.5 deg
30
23
24
36

1/2 point angle, p

56.5 deg
58
45
55
59

chisel edge. Unlike a single point cutting tool, the rake angle
along the two symmetrical cutting edges of a twist drill is not
constant and the back rake angle at the outer edge is equal to
the helix angle. The orthogonal rake angle of the cutting edge
is measured in a plane perpendicular to the cutting edge and is
the angle between the cutting edge velocity vector and tangent
to the rake face. The orthogonal rake angle (Fig. 2) at any
intermediate position d, is given by [14]
(rf,/fiOtan0-tan[sin"~' (d 0 /tf,)sinp]cosp
tan yoi =

:
sin
p

(2)

where
= any intermediate diameter
d = drill diameter
helix angle
half of point angle
orthogonal rake angle at any intermediate position
To/
chisel edge length
d
dj

From equation (2) we have calculated the variation of yoi

along the cutting edge of 3.18-mm (1/8-in.) drill bits of
various types, especially those tested by Jacob [4]. Figure 3
reveals the variation of orthogonal rake angle measured in
radians along the edge which is shown as a fraction of the
nominal diameter of the drill bit along the abscissa. It is clear
from Fig. 3 that most drill bits have a high negative rake (Fig.
2) angle for a considerable portion of the cutting edge, e.g.,
up to 45 to 55 percent. This was especially true for the bit
M X 3 which is used for drilling metals.
An optimum rake angle facilitates cutting, decreases
deformation of material cut by the tool, improves chip flow
and reduces specific cutting energy [15, 16]. It was established
AUGUST 1982, Vol. 104 / 247

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by Merchant [15] while machining metal and by Jacob, et al.

[16] while machining bone that increasing the positive rake
angle decreases the principal cutting force. This finding is true
for bone regardless of osteon direction [16], and is contrary to
the recommendation of Bechtol [2] who suggested a 90-deg
point angle and a 0-deg rake angle throughout the cutting
edge. It should be pointed out that Bechtol's recommendation
did not pertain to cutting force; it was meant to prevent
chipping the periostal surface of the bone when the drill
penetrates the second cortex, but unfortunately most of the
commercial surgical drill bits are designed based on his
recommendations.
Therefore from these facts it is apparent that incorporation
of a higher positive rake angle along the cutting lip would
increase the effectiveness of the bit. This is an important
observation which we have identified and incorporated in our
design.
It is interesting to note that an N F x 4 bit (nomenclature
used, following Jacob, et al. [4]) which is the design suggested
by the present authors, has a considerably lower negative rake
angle over a smaller percent of its cutting lip, while nearly 60
percent of its edge has a positive rake angle (Fig. 3) which
increased the cutting efficiency of this drill bit.
Point Angle. Half the point angle, p, is considered
equivalent to the principal cutting edge angle of a single point
turning tool.
True feed per cutting edge for a drill bit is given by
a, = sin p where s0 = feed, mm/rev
The chip-tool interface temperature [18], T, is related to true
feed, a| as
r,ocVo|
T/oeVsin p if s is kept constant.
Therefore, a larger point angle will lead to a higher temperature at the chip-tool interface. It has also been shown by
Boston and Gilbert [17] and Oxford [18] that the thrust force
increases and the torque decreases with higher point angles in
the range of 90 to 140 deg while machining metal. Therefore,
it is logical to expect that an optimum point angle exists for
bone and stainless steel work-tool pair. Jacob, et al. [4]
evaluated drill bits of various point angles combined with
Table 2 Measured thrust and torque for drilling bone with
various drill geometry (after Jacob, et al. [4])
'ype

Point
angle,
deg

110
88
113
90
86

T
M
O
Y

Helix
angle,
deg
24
27
13.5
23
17.2

Thrust
F.,N

Torque
M;,xl0~2Nm

14.33
22.0
23.57
24.0
27.13

1.02
3.50
4.86
5.55
4.75

different helix angle. Some of their results on drilling torque

and thrust are shown in Table 2. We have calculated
theoretically the effect of those angles on the orthongonal
rake angle along the cutting edge of the drill bit. Figure 3
shows the variation of the rake angle for various point angle
and helix angle combinations. It may be observed from Fig. 3
that larger helix and point angle imparts a positive rake angle
for greater portion of the cutting lip. Jacob, et al. [4] showed
experimentally that a 110-deg point angle drill bit (Q type, see
Table 2) produced the least torque and thrust amongst the
seven different types (all results are not shown in Table 2) of
drill bits used to drill fresh bovine bone.
Now we may look into the equations of Table 3 developed
by Wiggins and Malkin [5] by statistical regression analysis of
their experimental data on fresh bone drilling. They showed
that a twist drill of 118-deg point angle and 28-deg helix angle
required much less torque per unit area of hole and energy as
well, per unit volume of the bone material drilled at a given
feed rate when compared to a surgical drill bit of 60-deg point
angle and 20-deg helix angle. It may be seen that with a typical
feed rate of /=0.128mm/rev, a surgical bit developed a
0 . 7 1 8 x l 0 ~ 2 Nmm torque and required 0.3504 J/mm 3 of
energy, the corresponding values for a twist drill of 118-deg
point angle are 0.654x 10" 2 Nmm and 0.3286 J/mm 3 . This
once again substantiates the fact that the 118-deg point angle
will peform better than a 60-deg point angle. Farnworth and
Burton [19] also studied the effect of different point angles on
the rate of penetration, and the torque and thrust developed
during drilling of bone. They examined three forms of drill
point geometry namely radial-relief, four facet and spiral
point. Their result indicates ([19, p. 232]) that a point angle in
the range of 110-130 deg is very effective for optimum drill
performance. In conclusion they have recommended a
120-140-deg point angle. Their recommendations were based
on a spiral point and they did not measure the temperature
developed. We have incorporated a split point by grinding the
chisel edge. As a higher point angle leads to the generation of
a higher temperature, we decided to use a compromised value
of 118-deg point angle. We are suggesting a range of 110-118
deg for the point angle based on the foregoing experimental
observations.
Lip Clearance Angle. Figure 1 shows the lip clearance
angle which is provided to avoid rubbing of the drill clearance
surface with the newly machined surface (clearane angle is
shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 on Sec. A-A). For steel this angle
varies from 6-9 deg and for hard plastics this is made 12-15
deg [14]. Hardness of fresh cortical bone is of the order of RH
80 to 97 (Rockwell-H) which is equivalent to RB 20-29 [20].
For soft metals it varies in the range of RB 60-100. Therefore,
for bone it is quite logical to select an angle of 15 deg at
periphery to 18 deg toward the center for l/8-l/4in- (6.35mm-) dia drills. In existing surgical bits it varies between 12
and 15 deg (Table 4).
Helix Angle. In equation (2), we have seen that the rake
angle and helix angle are related and that a larger helix angle

Table 3 The torque (I) required per unit area (A) of the drilled hole and the specific cutting energy (U)
during bone drilling at a constant thrust load (after Wiggins and Malkin [5])
Type

Geometry
Point
Helix
angle, deg
angle, deg

Rake
angle, deg

Equation

Remark

Surgical

60

20

7//! = 1.6xl0"2/0-39
(7 = 0.1 x/~ 0 - 6 1

77A = torque/area of hole,

N m m ; / = feed, mm/rev

General

118

28

-30
to
+ 30
(approx)

r M = 1.4xl0~2/'37

U= Specific cutting
energy, J/mm 3 or energy
required for unit volume
of material drilled out

i/=.09x/--

63

248/ Vol. 104, AUGUST 1982

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Transactions of the ASME

Table 4
study

Geometrical parameters of the drills used in this

Type

Surgical (S)
Experimental (N)

Metal cutting (M)

Diameter,
Point
Lip
Helix
in.(mm)
angle, deg angle, deg relief, deg
1/8 (3.18)
90
12-15
24
3/16 (4.76)
90
12-15
25
90
1/4 (6.35)
12-15
27
1/8(3.18)
15-18
118
34
11/64 (4.37)
118
15-18
35
1/4 (6.35)
118
15-18
36
1/4 (6.35)
118
6-10
15

Fig. 5 The experimental setup used for drilling experiment. The lathe
chuck (1), the two component dynamometer (2) for measuring torque
and thrust, the ~rill~ng he.ad (3), dead weight (4) for applying constant
thrust, and longItudinal slide (5) for constant feed motion are shown.

Fig. 4 The important design parameters of surgical drill (left) and the
experimental drill bit (right) are shown both in line diagram (or
thographic) and photograph. The additional lip and the absence of
chisel edge is visible in the new design, (top right). Lip clearance angle
is shown at the bottom (right).

will generate a larger rake angle, which is a desirable

characteristic at the edge. Torque and thrust during drilling
also decreases with an increase in the helix angle [14, 17, 18]
and a larger helix angle assists in clearing bone chips which
are usually short, flaky, and broken in nature. If chips are not
removed properly from the cutting zone, they are more likely
to clog in the flutes. This in turn, may increase the temperature beyond the threshold of tissue necrosis. Usually, the
helix angle of drill bits varies from 13 to 35 deg, depending on
the diameter. Larger angles are used for greater diameters.
Based on these facts, and considering the effect of helix angle
on the rake angle of the cutting edge (Fig. 3), we recommend
that the helix angle should be in the range of 24-36 deg for
surgical drills. As a matter of experimental evidence, the
performance of the Q-type drills used by Jacob [4J can be
noted. It was observed to be the best overall drill bit among
the bits he used (Table 2). Farnworth and Burton [19] also
recommended a helix angle of 27 deg based on their experimental results.
Flute. Helical flutes with U-grooves are very common in
twist drills used for general purpose metal machining. For
drilling wood, one may recall the use of auger bits which are
very efficient in removing wood chips. As bone has some
structural similarities with wood, we felt that the flute designs
should be similar. All commercially available surgical drill
bits have a helical flute with a U-groove. Many authors [4, 7,
10] have reported the serious problem of flute clogging with
bone chips eventually leading to high temperature generation.
We have also demonstrated this before [10]. To solve this
problem we have tried a parabolic flute design. The details of

Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

the flute profile is shown in Fig. 4. This design was found to

be more effective in ejecting and smoothly removing the bone
chips from the cutting zone. This was especially true when the
length of the hole was more than five to six times its diameter.
It is difficult to predict the number of retractions that might
be required to drill a long hole. However, we have observed
experimentally that the parabolic fluted drills are able to drill
a three times deeper hole than conventional surgical drills
before retraction and require only one-third, or less, of the
total number of withdrawals required by standard surgical
drills. Therefore, we expect that this design will avoid periodic
withdrawal of the drill for chip removal and shorten the time
of surgery.

Materials and Methods

Comparison of Drilling Torque, Thrust and Time. To
compare the performance of existing drill designs with the
new drill bits a lathe cum drilling machine (Maximat V-7) was
used. A two-component dynamometer (KIAG, Type 9271A)
simultaneously monitored the torque and the thrust during
drilling of bovine bones and bone cements. A small mounting
vise was fixed to the dynamometer to hold the samples. The
torque and the thrust signals were amplified in a matched pair
of charge amplifiers (KIAG, 5001) and then fed to a strip
chart recorder (Cole Parmer Instrument Co., Recorder 838442). The drilling time was estimated from the thrust force
record and the calibrated chart speed. The drilling experiment
at a constant applied thrust force was performed by hanging a
dead weight on a lever fixed to the feeding handle of the
drilling head of the lathe cum drilling machine. Figure 5
shows the details of the experimental setup.
Samples of bone cement (Surgical grade, Simplex P,
Howmedica, Inc.), 3mm thick, were prepared by casting
PMMA in flat teflon molds. Rectangular compact bone
specimens (20mm x 25mm x 8-12mm) were machined, using
a band saw, from the middiaphysis of fresh bovine long
bones. The samples were frozen at - 20 C and kept immersed
in saline solution when not used. Unless mentioned otherwise,
standard commercially available surgical drill (Table 4) bits
were compared with the experimental bits.
To avoid the effect of the anisotropic nature of bone [16],
all experimental drillings were performed normal to the long
axis of the bone, drilling in the radial direction. Standard drill
bits of 3/16 in. and 1/8 in. diameter and experimental bits of
11/64 in. and 1/8 in. diameter were tested at 940 rpm. This
rpm was chosen, based on our finding of optimum cutting
speed [10J and recommendation of Jacob, et al. [4].
0

AUGUST 1982, Vol. 104/249

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Probe

^/ t
!. y

y/Feed
Recorder

Digital
Thermometer
(BAT-12)

Up.
\
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Bone Sample

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706050-

40 3020-

h10-

Drill Dia. = 3 mm
Feed = 0.128 mm / rev

Chuck
Fig. 6 Experimental setup for measurement of temperature during
drilling of bone in a lathe at a constant feed rate. The drill is held in the
rotating lathe chuck while the bone sample in a vise fixed ot the
longitudinal slide of the lathe which was engaged to lead screw for
providing the feed motion.

DRILLING AT CONST. FEED RATE

|RPM=940)

BONE CEMENT

80-

D=6.35mm(X")

BOVINE BONE

70-

60-

[ No Pilot holelM. Drill)

| j ^ j P.H.{M. Drill) 1.6mm dia

|

50-

I No P.H.(N. Drill)

T
40-

''4

30 2010M

f,

Fig. 7 Comparison of thrust forces developed by the new drill bit (N)
and by a conventional metal cutting drill (M) while drilling bone and
bone cement. Presence of a pilot hole (P.H.) or the use of the new drill
bit both reduced the thrust force significantly (p < .001).

Effect of Chisel Edge. In the section on mechanics of

drilling, we have already described that the chisel edge of a
drill bit (Figs. 1 and 2) produces an increased thrust load and a
higher temperature. It also hampers centering of the drill bit
on an irregularly curved surface of a bone. To evaluate the
effect of a chisel edge on drilling thrust, an experiment was
performed on samples of bone and bone cement by predrilling a minute hole (pilot hole) of diameter equal to the
length of the chisel edge of a metal drilling bit (diameter 6.35
mm, Table 4) before the experimental hole was drilled. Our
objective was to evaluate the reduction in the thrust due to the
absence of a chisel edge action as ensured by the presence a
pilot hole. The thrust load was measured (as described in the
foregoing subsection, "Comparison of Drilling Torque,
Thrust and Time,") subsequently while drilling at a constant
feed rate of 0.128mm/rev over the pilot hole and also on the
solid specimens of the fresh bovine bone and bone cement.
The solid bone and bone cement samples were also drilled
with a new bit of the same diameter under identical cutting
parameters and conditions.
Measurement of Temperature. The temperature generated during drilling is dependent on the cutting parameters,
e.g., the feed rate, drill speed, thrust force, type of work
materials and the cutting conditions, i.e., wet or dry cutting.
The temperature developed can be significantly reduced by

RPM
Fig. 8 Variation of temperature during drilling of fresh bovine bone
with respect of cutting speed at constant feed rate. The temperature
was measured 1mm away from the drilled hole.

suitable modifications of the existing design under identical

cutting conditions and parameters. The experimental set-up
for temperature measurement is shown in Fig. 6. For these
tests, a constant feed rate was maintained; the drill bit was
held by the lathe chuck and the bone specimens were fixed to
the tool post (Fig. 5). The temperature was measured with
copper-constantan microprobes (model BT-1, Bailey Instruments) placed one mm away from the pheriphery of the
drilled holes in the bone. The probe was held in position by
inserting it (sliding-fit) into a 0.2-mm-dia hole predrilled in
the bone for this purpose. The time response of the probe was
0.15 s. The microprobe was connected to a strip chart
recorder (Cole Parmer Inst.) for continuous recording of the
bone temperature during drilling. The microprobe along with
the recorder was calibrated by comparing it with a mercury
thermometer in water. The bone samples were kept moist by
soaking them in saline water. Just before drilling, the samples
were removed from the water but no external irrigation was
used to avoid any error due to uncontrolled rate of irrigation
at the drilling zone. After completion of every drilling, the
samples and drill bit were again soaked in water. Therefore
the measured temperature values will be comparable to the
upper limit of temperatures reached during actual surgical
procedures with no, or minimum, irrigation. The temperature
was also measured during drilling bone with an applied
constant thrust load. In this case the drilling head (Maximat
V-7) was used to provide rotation to the drill and the sample
was held in a vise. For temperature measurement the same
arrangement and instruments as described earlier was used as
shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
As bone is anisotropic in nature, the cutting force and
possibly the temperature will vary with the orientation of
osteons during orthogonal cutting [16]. In all of our experiments, drilling was performed only in the radial direction
(perpendicular to the long axis of bone). This direction was
chosen, as clinically bone screws or pins are mostly inserted in
this orientation.
Results
Effect of Chisel Edge and Point Modification. The thrust
force measured (described in the foregoing subsection,
"Effect of Chisel Edge") during drilling of bone cement
showed that a small pilot hole (1.5 mm) equal to the diameter
of the chosel edge, reduced the thrust load of a 6.35-mm (1/4in-)dia drill bit by 45 percent when drilling at a constant feed
rate (Fig. 7). Similarly, the same pilot hole experiment on beef
bone reduced the thrust load by 40 to 50 percent (Fig. 7). A
similar reduction in thrust while machining metals with twist
drills has been shown by other authors [21, 22]. This study
formed the basis of the chisel edge modification.
An analysis of the drill geometry indicates that the straight

250/Vol. 104, AUGUST 1982

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Transactions of the ASME

TEMPERATURE DURING DRILLING

BOVINE BONE. RPM = 940
CONST. THRUST LOAD = 9 3 . 4 N .

Table 5

Drill
Type
New
Surgical

80-i
70-

Effect of drill type on the size of the hole, n = 5

(<,

Diameter, mm
3.16
3.15

Method
Hand fed (a)
Hole diameter,
3.17 (0.01) <"'
3.21 (0.02)

Machine (b)
(mm)
3.17(0)
3.16(0.01)

'The figures in the parenthesis shows the ( s.d.)

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a.
1

50403020-

10 -

8-V'N-l"N4" S -fe" N =4Fig. 9 Mean temperature ( 1std. dev) measured 1 mm away from the
hole during drilling of fresh bovine bone at a constant thrust load,
which was chosen based on threshhold level of penetration of higher
size (1/4 in.) drill

DRILLING OF BONE CEMENT

RPM=940. APPLIED F,=45N

90
SURGICAL DRILL

80

70-

NEW DRILL

605040
30
20
10
S-^"(4.76mm|

N-jj"|4.36mm>

S - j "(3.18mm)

N = i "(3.18mm)

Fig. 10 The thrust Fz and the torque Mz developed, and the time of
drilling (t) a 3-mm thick block of bone cement by standard surgical drills
(S) of diameters 4.76 mm and 3.18 mm and the new drills (N) of
diameters 4.36 mm and 3.18 mm

line chisel edge has a large negative rake angle [13]. In order to
improve the cutting efficiency, the width of the chisel edge is
often reduced. In some commercial surgical drill bits, the
webs (web is shown in Fig. 1) are thinned by grinding which
improves the efficiency to some extent. However, the
maximum degree of web-thinning possible by this method is
limited by the minimum strength of the web necessary to
avoid damage to the drill point due to the cutting force. In the
new drill, therefore, a split point was incorporated by grinding a notch which reduced the chisel edge almost to a tip and
this produced two additional cutting edges as shown in Fig. 4.
This transformed the extrusion effect of the chisel edge to a
cutting action by imparting positive rake angle at the chisel
edge zone. This design change also caused breaking of the
chips into smaller pieces so that they could be ejected more
easily through the flutes. This modification also facilitated
accurate location of the drill bit on the curved surface of a
bone. Skidding or walking of the common drill point when
starting a hole on a curved, bony surface is a clinical problem.
Due to the absence of a chisel edge and incorporation of a
pointed tip, this new bit can be located and held in position
more conveniently when a portable hand drill is used.
Journal of Biomechanical Engineering

Temperature. The temperature generated during drilling

fresh bovine bones was found to increase at the beginning
with rotational speed and there was an optimum range of
750-1000 rpm, at a feed rate of 0.128 mm/rev, where the
temperature was below the threshhold level of tissue damage.
Figure 8 depicts the results of testing with a surgical bit of 3mm diameter. Similar results were also obtained for a 4.8mm-dia surgical bit. Jacob, et al. [4] suggested 750 to 1250
rpm as optimum speed range for bone drilling. The new bit of
3.18-mm diameter, when tested similarly at a constant feed
rate of 0.128 mm/rev, did not show any significant change in
temperature in the speed range of 65 to 1400 rpm. The peak
temperature developed while drilling bovine bone with the
new bit varied from 30 to 40C in the above range of speed.
The result of a comparative study on temperature
generation under constant thrust load (which probably is
more common clinically) is shown in Fig. 9. Under the same
cutting conditions, the new 1/8-in-dia bit reduced the temperature by 41 percent when compared with a 1/8-in standard
surgical drill bit (Fig. 9). The 1/4-in-dia new bit even
developed lower temperatures than a smaller surgical drill bit
of 3/16-in. diameter.
Thrust, Torque and Time. The penetration rate under the
approximately constant applied load of 45N was significantly
higher (p<0.001) in case of the new drill bit (Fig. 10). A
thrust load of 45N was chosen since this was slightly above the
threshhold value for initiating and continued penetration with
a surgical drill of 3/16-in. diameter [3, 10]. Figure 10 shows
that a surgical bit required 233 percent more time to drill a
3/16-in-dia hole through the bone cement piece of thickness 3
mm. Similarly a 1/8-in-dia surgical bit used 67 percent more
time compared to the new design. The drilling torque was
slightly more (5-10 percent) for the new design. Clinical trial
of the drill bit also showed promising results as far as thrust
and temperature developed and ease of handling was concerned.
Size and Quality of Holes. Drill holes when measured
accurately are found to be generally larger than the drill
diameter due to wobbling, an effect also noted by others, [2].
Bechtol, et al. [2] suggested that enlargement of the hole can
be minimized by dulling the flute edge. Compared to surgical
bits our split point drill wobbled much less.
To quantify the effect of drill design on the size and quality
of the drilled holes, 1/8-in- (3.18-mm-) dia surgical and new
bits were used to drill two sets of holes in flat machined pieces
of moist bovine bone clamped in a vise. A portable hand-fed
power drill rotating at 1000 rpm and a drilling head rotating
at 940 rpm in a lathe cum drilling machine as described
earlier, were used in this study (Table 5). The holes were
examined carefully and their dimensions measured under a
microscope (Ortholux, Leitz, 32 X) and also on a TV screen
after 200 x magnification. The holes were also measured with
internal vernier slide caliper (The Central Tool Co. model
208). The edges of the holes generated by surgical drill looked
rough and torn while those by the new drill had sharper,
cleaner edges. As expected, the hand-fed drilling generated
comparatively rougher edges and produced larger dirnenAUGUST 1982, Vol. 104/251

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sional variation than the machine drilling for both types of

drill, as shown in Table 5.
Special Features. While drilling bone, the presence of
periosteum often obstructs the flow of chips through the drill
flutes [4, 10] and, thus, causes clogging of the chips. The split
point drill bit we used hardly caused any such problem.
Usually the chisel edge catches the periosteum and eventually
carries it to the flutes where it obstructs chip flow. Our splitpoint design imparted a positive rake angle and a cutting
action to the chisel edge thus avoiding such problems. In
drilling larger holes with ordinary drill bits, it was sometimes
observed [2] that the drill might catch on a piece of bone while
entering the marrow cavity. If it was forced ahead at that
stage, it would create a small fracture fragment which was
usually visible to the naked eye. This damaging phenomenon
was not observed at all while drilling with the new bit when
observed under a magnifying glass of 10 x . Once again we
may recall that with the new design, "walking" of the drill bit
was eliminated. The use of a dril guide was also not necessary
except for a very long drill bit or to protect the soft tissues.
Conclusion
A new drill bit has been designed and, compared to the
standard surgical drill bits, the new bit was much more efficient in drilling bone and bone cement. The new bit
penetrated at a faster rate with a reduced thrust load. The
peak temperature generated was also significantly lower for
the new bit and it avoided clogging of the bone chips and
walking on the curved bone surface. We hope that the use of
this new drill bit will make bone drilling easier, reduce the
time of surgery and minimize the possibility of thermal
necrosis of bone. The modified design parameters are shown
in Table 4. Figure 4 shows the detailed orthographic views and
pictorial view (top right corner) of the drill bit. The design
features of the new drill bit has been discussed in this paper.
Further details required for manufacturing the drill bit is
beyond the scope of the present paper.
References
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and Human Factor Symposium ASME, 1967, pp. 87-110.

2 Bechtol, C. O., Ferguson, A. B., and Liang, P. G., "Metals and

Engineering in Bone and Joint Surgery," Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore,
1959.
3 Sneath, R. S., "The Determination of Optimum Twist Drill Shape for
Bone," Biomechanics and Related Bioengineering Topics, Proceedings of the
Symposium of Glasgow, Pergamon Press, Oxford, Sept. 1964, pp. 41-45.
4 Jacob, C. H., Berry, J. T., Pope, M. H., and Hoaglund, F. T., "A Study
of Bone Machining ProcessDrilling," Journal of Biomechanics, Vol. 9, 1976,
pp.343-349.
5 Wiggins, K. L., and Malkin, S., "Drilling of Bone," Journal of
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6 Matthews, L. S., and Hirsch, C , "Temperature Measured in Human
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and
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Process," Trans. ASME, Vol. 77, 1955.
19 Farnworth, G. H., and Burton, J. A. "Optimization of Drill Geometry
For Orthopaedic Surgery," Paper No. 28, Proceeding of the 14th International
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252/Vol. 104, AUGUST 1982

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Transactions of the ASME