Happy with your Threading Performance? Let DC Swiss Take a Look

The optimum threading performance from any cutting tool always depends on numerous factors from the type of machine tool, coolant type and pressure, work and tool holding through to your requirements or the requirements of your component.  At DC Swiss we understand how important your threading performance is, and apply our knowledge alongside your particular factors to provide you with a product within your budget and machine shop capabilities but suitable to your application. Merely supplying you with the most expensive tool won’t improve your threading performance process if other areas need improvement. We’ve rounded up some of our most frequently asked questions below, to make sure your threading performance gets off to the best start possible.

Common Threading Performance Issues – Can you spot yours?

Improve cycle time. – Speeding the process up whenever possible is a must for today’s manufacturers if they want to stay competitive.

Machine thread to full depth. – Prevent hand tapping to depth to avoid additional costs and time to a process.

Stop breaking taps and mills. – In exotic materials or expensive components, breakages can be costly to rectify.

Improve thread quality to the gauge. – Help to improve the overall quality of the component and achieve a more consistent thread count.

Tap multiple materials with the same tap. – Having a truly versatile tap to cover a range of material & machine types saves on tool setting times and reduces the number of tools needed.

Thread mill without deflection. – If you need to mill anything over 2 x D then deflection can become a problem. DC Swiss have a milling solution which offers 4 x D without deflection.

Tap or mill micro threads. – Our standard tool range starts at Metric M0.3 x 0.08 pitch. Plus we have the gauging to suit.

Understanding when to tap and when to mill. – We convert more customers back to tapping from milling, although we are happy to sell both, but will always recommend the best solution – the one which is right for you.

Medical threads. – Dental specific threads & tooling are also within our product portfolio.

Be more cost efficient and become more consistent. – Are you content with your current method but have an engineer’s feeling that your threading performance could be better?

Let’s look more closely at one of the topics we’re asked about most frequently: Rigid Solid Tapping or Synchro Rigid tapping.  Different people use different descriptions.

Rigid tapping is when the machine tool programming controls the feed of the tapping cycle. This is the most commonly used method in today’s manufacturing sectors when it comes to producing internal threads on today’s modern machine tools for the most effective threading performance. This cycle holds the tap in a solid (rigid) holding method and uses the control system of the machine to rotate the tool and travel at a synchronised feed rate to cut the required pitch of the thread. Once at the correct depth the machine spindle comes to a complete stop, reverses the spindle (breaking the swarf on blind holes) and retracts from the component. All the stresses that this process creates are taken by the tap. Take a moment to consider a small tap in solid ER BT40 collet chuck asked to tap Stainless Steel with ZERO compensation at the point when it stops to reverse & break the chip at the same time – Is it any wonder the customer tells us ‘’ it tends to break at the bottom of the hole ! ‘’

Adding a synchro chuck instead of a solid holding method will greatly reduce the amount of stress that transfers up through the tap from the machine spindle at the point when it stops and reverses in a split second. These rigid tapping synchro chucks work in a similar way to the old tension and compression chucks but with only a minimal amount of ‘float’ that acts as a dampener for the tap. At the point when the tap reaches the bottom of the hole the minimal axial and radial float allow the tap to maintain perfect pitch synchronicity with the spindle – whilst completely removing all the stress on the tap.

The overriding success of rigid tapping cycles combined with synchro chucks is an improved tool life of 20% minimum, even where solid holding systems currently are working well. Synchro is immensely important when wanting to maximise cutting data, and particularly important in reducing tap breakage due to less pressure on the tap.  It is common sense that your tap will be cutting more sweetly without axial or radial pressure and so be more productive & safe.

So if you want to increase tool life, tool threading performance and be kinder to your machine, then Rigid Tapping Synchro is definitely something you should test us on.  Have a clear goal, don’t accept a problem, invite us to achieve your desired threading performance level & solve the problem.

Contact us:- 0114 2939013 or info@dcswiss.co.uk