A drill cutter is a special type of shank cutter that combines the characteristics of a drill and a milling tool. Its main characteristic is its face design, where the cutting edges extend to the very centre of the tool. Unlike the standard shank cutter, which has a gap in the middle of the face and therefore cannot drill itself into the full material, the drill cutter has this ability. It allows what is known as a plunge cut, which is a vertical movement of the tool into the material, similar to drilling. Once the desired depth is reached, the tool can smoothly move sideways into the milling process, creating grooves, pockets or other shapes without the need to pre-drill the hole with another tool. This combines two work steps into one and saves time for tool changes. It also enables a technique called "ramping", in which the tool is plunged into the material in a smooth motion along an inclined path.