All broaching tools are "special designs" in that they are generally made

for a single user and a specific machining operation. However, certain

types of broaches have become especially well-known for the type of work
they do.

INTERNAL BROACHES

Internal broaches are either pulled or pushed through a starter hole. The machines can
range from fully automated multi stationed verticals to horizontal pull types to simple presses.

Rotary-Cut Broaches
Rough forgings, malleable~ iron castings with a hard skin, and sand castings with abrasive
surface inclusions are cut with one of three types of rotary-cut broaches.

The design idea is somewhat similar to that of a chip breaking slot, but the cutting edge has
been drastically reduced and the slots between the teeth have become much deeper.
Rotary-cut broaching teeth are heavier, to withstand the heavy cutting load, and are spaced
in staggered fashion along the axis of the broach to generate the entire circumference of the
hole. The tools are designed to take deep cuts underneath a poor-quality surface. Once this
surface has been penetrated, the balance of the broaching tool proceeds to semi-finish and
finish underlying metal in the normal manner.

Hexagonal Rotary-Cut Broach

The hexagonal rotary-cut broach is used for small diameter holes, remove little stock. Depth

of cut is limited to the distance across the flats.

Radial Rotary-Cut Broach
The radial rotary-cut broach removes more stock than
the hex-type tool because the cutting portions of the
teeth are connected by arcs rather than by flats.

Spline, Rotary-Cut Broach

Spline, rotary-cut broaches offer a grater degree of
flexibility than either of the other tool types and also
permit maximum stock removal. The amount of stock
removal is governed primarily by the capacity of the
broaching machinem rather than by any tooling
limitations. Rise per tooth may be as much as 0.050
in. on such broaches.

Keyway Broach
Almost all keyways in machine tools and parts are cut
by a keyway broach - a narrow, flat bar with cutting
teeth spaced along one surface. Both external and
internal keyways can be cut with these broaches.
Internal keyways usually require a slotted bushing or
horn to fit the hole, with the keyway broach pulled
through the horn, guided by the slot.

If a number of parts, all of the same diameter and keyway size, are to be machined, an
internal keyway broach can be designed to fit into the hole to support the cutting teeth. Only
the cutting teeth extend beyond the hole diameter to cut the keyway. Bushings or horns are
not required.

Multiple Spline Keyway Broach

When several keyways are spaced around a hole,
the resulting sections is a multiple-spline cut. A
single keyway broach can be used to cut all the
splines by indexing the workpiece around a fixture.
However, high production work usually requires a
multiple-spline broach. This tool is equivalent to a
series of keyway broaches combined in one tool,
with the cutting teeth spaced around the tool
diameter. These teeth can be straight sided,
involute, helical, spline or a combination.
Helical Broach
Helical splines (either straight sided or involute)
can be broached with a helical broach. The teeth
are ground in a helical path around the tool axis.
The helix angle corresponds to that required in the
work.

Spiral Tooth Broach

The spiral tooth tool for internal broaching
basically is a round broach with teeth on a shear
angle. The teeth are always engaged in the
workpiece which can reduce vibration.

Burnishers
Burnishers are broaching tools designed to polish
(by cold-working) rather than cut a hole. The total
change in diameter produced by a burnishing
operation may be no more than 0.0005 to 0.001 in.
Burnishing tools, used when surface finish and
accuracy are critical and relatively short and are
generally designed to push broaches.

Burnishing buttons sometimes are included behind the finishing-tooth section of a

conventional broaching tool. The burnishing section may be added as a special attachment
or easily replaced shell. These replacement shells are commonly used to reduce tooling
costs when high wear or tool breakage is expected. They are also used to improve surface
finish.

Shell Broaches
Shell broaches can be used on the roughing semi-
finishing sections of a broach tool. The principal
advantage of a shell broach is that worn sections can
be removed and resharpened, or replaced, at far less
cost than a conventional single-piece tool. When
shells are used for the finishing teeth of long
broaches; the teeth of the shell can be ground to far
greater accuracy than those of a long conventional
broach tool and the tool can continue to be used by
replacing the shell.

Spline-Burring Broaches
Spline-burring broaches are quite short and are generally designed as push broaches. They
remove burrs created by machining work done after the splines have been formed. For
example, a hole might be drilled and tapped into the spline for a grease fitting, leaving burrs
that could create assembly problems. These broaches are made slightly undersize on the
spline width and may be equipped with round teeth to remove burrs from inside the bore.

Special Sizing Broaches

Special sizing broaches are pulled or pushed through a semi-finished hole to take out the
last few thousandths of stock faster and more efficiently than a fine-feed boring tool can.

SURFACE BROACHES

These Broaches are used to remove material from an external surface are commonly known
as surface broaches. Such broaches are passed over the workpiece surface to be cut, or the
workpiece passes over the tool on horizontal, vertical or chain machines to produce flat or
contoured surfaces.

While some surface broaches are of solid construction, most are of built-up design - with
sections, inserts, or indexable tool bits that are assembled end-to-end in a broach holder or
sub-holder. The holder fits on the machine slide and provides rigid alignment and support.
The first tooth of each insert or section of the assembly is ground to conform with the last
tooth of the preceding insert or section. Burnishing inserts are sometimes provided at the
end of the holder to perform their function after the other teeth have completed their
operations, but such tools are very vulnerable to metal pickup and can cause tearing.

Most surface broaches are special and designed for a specific application, but some
standard, general-purpose broaches are available. Broach holders can often be standardized
in several sizes to hold various surface broaches. Only the more common of the many
different surface broaches available are discussed in this section.

Pine-Tree Broaches
Pine-tree broaches cut the complex serrations used
to lock turbine blades into their rotors. Common
practice is to use a set of broaches; the first cuts a
straight-sided V-notch in the rotor rim and is followed
by one or more serrated broaches that progressively
widen the notch to the full pine-tree configuration.
Sectional Broaches
Sectional broaches are used to broach unusual or
difficult shapes - often in a single pass. The sectional
broach may be round or flat, internal or external. The
principle behind this tool is similar to that of the shell
broach, but straight sections of teeth are bolted along
the axis of the broach rather than being mounted on
an arbor. A complex broaching tool can be built up
from a group of fairly simple tooth sections to
produce a cut of considerable complexity.
Carbide Broach Inserts
Broaching tools with brazed carbide broach inserts
are frequently used to machine cast-iron parts.
Present practice, such as in machining automotive
engine blocks, has moved heavily to the use of
disposable, indexable inserts, and this has drastically
cut tooling costs in many applications

Heavy-Duty Broaches
Carbide tool bits and the sectional-broach idea are combined into heavy-duty broaches for
cutting deeply into heavily scaled surfaces. The carbide-tipped tool bits are arranged in a
staggered pattern on the face of a tool holder. Each tooth is preset by means of an
adjustable screw and locked in place in the tool holder by a setscrew. (See above)

Slab Broaches
Slab broaches are simple tools for producing flat surfaces
come closest to being truly general-purpose broaches. A
single slab broach can be used to produce flat surfaces
having different widths and depths on any workpiece by
making minor adjustments to the broach, fixture, and / or
machine.

Progressive or Nibbling-Type Broaches

Progressive or nibbling-type broaches are for cutting through hard surfaces and for heavy
stock removal. These broaches have two sets of narrow roughing teeth, with each set
positioned at an angle with respect to the centerline of the broach holder, thereby forming an
inverted vee. Each tooth or insert takes a shear cut, generally to full depth, but covers only a
small portion of the workpiece surface. This is similar to a single-point tool on a sharper or
planer progressively generating a flat surface on the workpiece.

Full-width teeth for semi-finishing and finishing are located behind the roughing teeth on
progressive broaches so that the entire surface in cut in one pass. For narrow surfaces, the
teeth or inserts at the starting end are V-shaped. On subsequent teeth, the vees gradually
widen until the full required width of the surface is cut. The final teeth are flat, similar to those
on a slab broach.

Slot Broaches
Slot broaches are for cutting slots but are not as general purpose in function as slab
broaches. Adjustments can easily be made to produce different slot depths, but slot widths
are a function of the broach width. When sufficient production volume is required: however,
slot broaches are often faster and more economical than milling cutters. In broaching, two or
more slots can often be cut simultaneously.

Spline Punches
Spline punches, special types of broaches with only one tooth, are used for shaping holes
through which conventional broaches cannot pass. One example is internal gear teeth in a
blind hole. The gear teeth are rough cut by drilling and shaping, or milling, then one or more
spline punches are forced into the work to produce the tooth form.

Blind-Hole Broaching
Blind-hole broaching violates two broaching
principles: the tool does not pass completely through
the workpiece, and it must be withddrawn badkward
over the broached surface. But it can be done when
necessary. The job usually involves a series of short
push broaches, each slightly larger in diameter than
the preceding tool. These short push broaches are
mounted on a circular indexing table that rotates
under or over the workpiece, the broaching machine
pushes the workpiece over the tool, withdraws it, and
then waits for the next broaching tool to index into
position.

Strip Broaching
Strip broaching also violates the principle that a
broach tool should not return through the workpiece,
or else tool life will be reduced and the surface finish
of the workpiece will be marred. In strip broaching,
the broach tool is returned through the workpiece
hole without stopping the machine to unload. Strip
broaching is most commonly used for round-hole
broaching of large quantities of low-cost parts when
machining costs must be held to an absolute
minimum. Strip broaches can be combined with
burnishing buttons that slightly increase the hole
diameter to provide a small amount of clearance,
permitting the tool to be withdrawn without damaging
the finished surface or dulling the cutting teeth.

Rotary Broaches
Rotary broaches are special types of surface broaches. They are not commonly used, but
they do offer advantages when producing work with external radial forms. In the most
common setup, the broach tool is mounted on a rotating faceplate and the work is clamped
into a hydraulic fixture. The tool makes one revolution to cut the desired shape. Circular slots
can be cut by a rotary broach that is turned around its own axis.

Ring or Pot Broaches

In pot broaching, one or more workpieces are generally pulled or pushed up or pushed down
through the bore of a pot broach subholder that is normally stationary on a vertical machine.
There are three basic types of pot broaches having internal cutting tooth configurations: ring,
stick, and combination ring and stick.