Threading & Tapping

A growing number of shops are shelving their taps and opting to thread mill heat-treated steel.

Understanding tool geometry and selecting the right tap for different workpiece materials can help take the anxiety out of tapping operations.

Check out this brief video from Kennamental Inc. showing a side-by-side comparison of an HSS tap vs. a solid-carbide tap. The video accompanies CTE's August cover story on selecting the right tap for different workpiece materials. The split-screen video demonstrates the significant productivity advantage of the first solid carbide tap specifically engineered for tapping steels.

Because of the array of precision functions grinding machines perform, it's vital to properly maintain them to keep them operating at their peak in terms of accuracy and reliability. You can start by devising a maintenance program and sticking with it. This article provides tips on how to set up key parts of that program.

April 2009 Part Time column

March 2009 Shop Operations column

A parts manufacturer finds that brushing the cutting edges of tools with nylon bristles extends tool life, improves part quality and reduces manufacturing costs.

The benefits of minimumquantitylubrication, which is suitable for many types of machine tools, are numerous.

Features needed by thread mills to create long, internal threads.

Avoid the threadmaking limit on Swiss-style lathes by segmenting.

Design and use of taps for threading harder materials. Specially designed taps can be very effective for threading hard materials, as can thread mills.

Realizing true high-speed synchronous tapping with solid-carbide tools.