I was wondering if anyone had any tips or hints for modeling a drill bit for manufacturing. I've probably googled this topic around 10 times but haven't had any luck yet. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
It is just a helical sweep cut. Create a shaft and then figure out your drill pitch, and sweep a square (or whatever shape you need) around your shaft at this pitch. Depending on your drill you will need to pattern the initial sweep based on the number of drill teeth, but it will normally just be 2.
I can open it no problem. The file shows what I said though... It is a cylinder with a helical cut out set of 3 squares. There is then a central shaft added back in along the length of the screw filling back in the points removed by the square helical sweep. Fillets are then used to round out the interior features.
The squares that cut out the flutes are the size of the bit diameter and their side is collinear to the bit axis. After the initial cut, the bit will have zero thickness in places, so you must re-construct the centre shaft material.