Alloys are created when someone combines more than one metal to create a new material. Many alloy drill bits like tungsten steel and tungsten carbide drill bits are very efficient at drilling through metals like steel. These bits are engineered for operating under high speeds in hot environments. When someone combines tungsten with steel, it forms a very strong, corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant alloy. Very few materials on Earth are harder than tungsten carbide; its hardness value on the Moh's scale of hardness is 9.
Cobalt drill bits are some of the more popular types of drill bits employed to drill through hard material like steel. Many manufacturers combine steel with cobalt to create a material that makes an efficient drill bit. Cobalt drill bits are very hard and quite resistant to heat, making them effective for production drilling or repeated drilling applications. Cobalt drill bits were designed for sharpening when needed. Workers often employ these drill bits to drill through stainless steel.
Titanium drill bits are some of the more efficient drill bits available for punching through steel. Titanium drill bits are not made out of 100 percent titanium. A coating of titanium is applied to a standard drill bit designed for high-speed applications in the production of titanium drill bits. These drill bits are very resistant to corrosion and add a level of hardness to their base metals when you reduce friction between bit and work piece. While titanium drill bits are harder than cobalt drill bits, they cannot be sharpened because the titanium is merely a coating.
Diamond, with a hardness value of 10, remains the hardest material in the world. Specialists design synthetic diamonds to the same hardness as naturally occurring diamonds. Diamond-tipped drill bits can drill through any material in front of them. They are the strongest, hardest drill bits available and can easily bore through any grade of steel. Diamond-tipped bits are engineered on high-quality steel bases.