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Talking of which, any advice on drilling hardox? does it need anything special? I've every so slightly fucked up the CAD and misaligned a set of holes by around 3mm, so need to drill em out a bit. I knew I'd fuck up something rushing it like I did :P
Filing isn't really an option with hardox unless you have a power tool to do it for you; it's not called a ware resistant steel for nothing! Paint scrapers are used quite a lot and have been shown to get underneath most things with a lot less effort than filing hardox (something like this would probably do: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EXTRA-WIDE...0AAOxy~ilSPeiz)
For drilling hardox, a fresh cobalt drill or similar and plenty of cutting fluid will do the job nicely.
Just don't let the Hardox or the dill bit overheat. If it does you will work harden the Hardox further and make it impossible to drill. We've had this issue with countersinking and drilling Hardox in the past. Just take it slow and it should be fine.
Yeah, don't go easy on the cutting fluid; I normally drill about 1mm deep at a time, then apply a load more.
I have a second option, which is to put a 3mm strip of metal between the frame and the 12mm threaded rod, thus aligning it with the holes in the hardox..... sounds like it might be the easier choice. The hardox has other points of attachment that don't have any issues, so I think this would be an ok fix :x
Good advice though, I have plenty of cutting oil, might need a higher quality drillbit though if I do try to drill it!
I got a suitable one from screw fix for about £3 for a single drill... If you only need one size it's well worth it for Hardox!
As well as using cutting oil, use slow speed and lots of pressure. I find hardened steel drills much easier if you start a pilot hole with a small drill around 2 to 3mm. The pressure per sq. inch is huge with a small bit, allowing it to punch through quickly with less heating. Try to find a cobalt drill bit with a split point and a 135 degree angle, they will last longer and cut faster in hardened steel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUIj9ut5y1E
see if you can dig up the bosch blue style masonry bits, they will drill a hole in any hardness material but it isn't accurate (6mm hole will be 6.3 etc etc).
I just got some 5mm "Bosch blue" bits from Screwfix, like the above. I need to drill quite a few holes in hardox so fingers crossed they do the job!
Make sure you pilot, cobalt bits go through Hardox like butter, lots of pressure, slow speed lots of cutting fluid (I just use WD40, works fine).