Today, drilling can be considered the most common of all metal cutting operations. Drilling can be accomplished on nearly all machines that can produce a relative rotation of the spindle, and/or the workpiece. These machines can include drill presses, lathes, milling machines and machining centers. Of the more than 1.70 million machine tools in the United States, that are located in plants employing more than twenty workers, more than half of these machines can, and probably are performing drilling functions. Drilling has been studied in numerous investigations with the objective of increasing drill performance. Severely lacking in this research has been the use of statistically designed experiments. Traditional experimental techniques in tooling have been conducted under a one variable at a time methodology. The twist drill, however, is one of the most complex metal cutting tools in existence today. Changing one variable at a time can lead to unwanted changes in other variables. With today's statistical techniques and computers, variables and variable interactions should be able to be adjusted and controlled. Because drilling is one of the leading metal cutting operations, an ever so slight increase in the level of drill performance could yield important benefits to manufacturing. Investigation into drill geometry and variable interaction may also lead to significant increases in drill performance. A quantitative analysis was performed to determine the effect of different independent variables on tool life for Titanium Nitride Coated tools. This was accomplished in two stages. In Stage 1, the variables lip height, helix angle, and margin width were tested one at a time for their effect on tool life. In Stage 2, the variable lip height from Stage 1 and the independent variables, speed and feed, were tested for their effect on tool life in a three variable, two level factorial treatment design. Secondary measurements were also taken in Stage 2 on acceleration, torque and face wear. Stage 1 showed that tighter tolerances on lip height could improve tool life. The 39 degree helix angle was more of a detriment than an aid, to increase tool life. The lowest level of margin width had lower tool life than either of the other two levels. In stage 2 feed and lip height had a significant effect on tool life at the 90% confidence level. Speed did not have an effect on tool life. No variable in Stage 2 had an significant effect on acceleration at either the 95% or 90% confidence level. At the low level of the feed, acceleration readings seemed applicable in determining pending tool failure. The largest values of crater width on the face were associated with the low values of feed. No true distinction can be made with torque, between any of the combinations of levels tested. This research has attempted to further quantify some of the variables and variable interactions associated with drilling for Titanium Nitride Coated tools. / M.S.