Guhring has expanded its thread milling line-up with the arrival of the exciting new SC-TM-Z SP high-performance full-profile thread milling cutter. Taking productivity to the next level, this threadmill creates a complete thread in just two revolutions to deliver significantly shorter cycle times.
The launch builds on one of the industry’s broadest thread-milling ranges. Introducing the portfolio, Guhring UK’s National Sales Manager, Chris Bush, says: “It’s an introduction to the whole range, from the single-pitch thread mill and micro thread mill all the way through to a drill, chamfer and thread mill all in one tool, and everything in between. It’s an incredibly comprehensive and diverse range that caters for virtually all the threading demands of a modern machine shop.”
The SC-TM-Z SP now arrives as the latest addition to that diverse line-up. It is available from M3 to M20 in metric and metric fine, with the range being extended to mirror Guhring’s wider thread milling offering.
Part of Guhring’s SC-Line, the full-profile threadmill sets a new performance benchmark for the range. At the heart of the SC-TM-Z SP is a staggered-tooth, staggered-pitch design. Explaining the benefit, Chris continues: “You’ve got less surface contact, less radial force and less push-off. Because there’s less radial load and less push-off, you don’t need to do a spring pass. This significantly reduces vibration, enabling manufacturers to run at higher RPM and higher feed.”
This is enabled by a new, patent-pending flute geometry that incorporates an uneven division and spiralling that suppress vibration. Irregular tooth rows reduce radial forces and improve dimensional accuracy and process reliability, together delivering a remarkably smooth cutting action with low cutting forces that enhance thread quality. As a typical example of productivity gains, when milling an M10 thread to 2.5XD in a ST52 carbon steel bearing block, the SC-TM-Z SP ran at 120 m/min and 0.075 mm/z, achieving a 55% reduction in machining time per thread compared with a competitor tool. Furthermore, the innovative geometry extended tool life by 17%, from 700 to 820 components.
That durability stems from an optimal combination of Guhring’s high-quality carbide grade, the new Sirius coating and the tool geometry. Discussing this, Chris adds: “The carbide is the usual high-quality Guhring carbide, and the coating is the new Sirius coating, so it allows multifunction use across all materials. It also ensures low wear, so you get higher tool life. You don’t have to worry about cutter compensation or spring passes, so you can keep running a secure process for longer.” Suitable for a wide range of materials, including steels, stainless steels, cast irons, non-ferrous materials and heat-resistant alloys, the SC-TM-Z SP machines true-to-gauge for longer, delaying tool radius correction and maintaining process reliability to a thread depth of up to 2.5XD.
To simplify adoption, Guhring offers free online programming via its CNC Guhro ThreadMill generator. Chris highlights its ease of use: “Anybody can sign up and get access. Whatever operating system you use, ISO or otherwise, it will generate the program for it, and you can just copy and paste it into your program.” The Guhro ThreadMill generator supports Siemens, Heidenhain, FANUC, Mazatrol and Hurco controls.
For shops moving from tapping to thread milling, Guhring also highlights the process’s inherent security. “If you break a thread mill, you just replace it and re-cut the thread; you don’t have to worry about sparking out a tap. If you do need technical support, we’ve got 20 engineers on the road across the UK and Ireland, and they would be happy to come in and run it in your machine shop,” says Chris.
