Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

If you liked this, you'd probably also enjoy this video[1] where a guy tests cryogenically frozen drill bits and explains (and shows via microscope) why they are so much stronger.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAxi5YXTjEk



Takeaways:

- It makes the drills harder, but as a result likely also more brittle, so they may only be "stronger" for certain applications

- Using the bit properly is much more important than what it's made of/whether it's cryo treated - he got an entire plate of steel with one bit with 30 m/min (and the bit was still good at the end) and then destroyed 7 bits, included some treated ones, on fewer holes than that using 40 m/min (I assume that's surface speed).

- This also means he didn't test how much longer the bit would last under good conditions, only that it was able to withstand non-optimal conditions longer. While it's likely that this transfers, it's not guaranteed.


Applied Science is an amazing channel. I'd also recommend checking out Breaking Taps and Alpha Phoenix for similar content.


That dude has a $50,000 oscilloscope.


Probably the least interesting piece of equipment he has. Anyways, at his latest video he has pretty pedestrian scope (~$2k) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO_EHceV9sk so any fancy scopes might have been just loaners from $work.


How are these 360 degrees test setups called, that use two current probes to determinate the electric resistance in an object from point to point?

That could have been interesting non-destructive scan with microfractured elements like this drill. They had them at uni. They had a third wire to ground after the test and some strange holding grip to prevent the whole setup from becoming a capacitor. One run took hours and you needed the 3d model of the object and thorough cleaning and sometimes sanding of the surface.


His YouTube revenue could have payed for the scope. I found it

https://alltest.net/categories/products/MSO58-Tektronix


Which he probably got at salvage and repaired.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: