OSG introduced the A-Tap series to one of its customers to assist in tooling consolidation management, as it is designed to accommodate a wide range of materials. The customer, whose name cannot be disclosed due to confidentiality reasons, did not have any previous experience with multi-purpose taps and was highly suspicious of the concept.
OSG’s A-Tap is an all-purpose tap series designed to simplify tool management and to excel in a wide variety of materials and applications. Achieving trouble-free chip evacuation with a spiral tap in blind holes is particularly challenging and is a main cause of headaches for many manufacturers (Figure 1). To resolve this problem and to improve the ejection of chips, OSG’s A-Tap A-SFT has adopted a variable helix flute design, which encourages stable chip evacuation and reduces cutting forces. The helix angle changes from the chamfer, where chips are formed, to the flutes, where chips are evacuated. This unique geometry enables greater chip control that can help produce tightly compacted chips for easy ejection from the hole (Figure 2).
To accommodate a wide range of cutting conditions, powdered metal HSS and OSG’s patented V coating have been employed in this series to achieve excellent wear resistance. In addition, to enable high speed machining, the A-Tap series incorporates a unique cutting edge design that emphasizes sharpness. Not only does the A-Tap series perform well in general steel, it also excels in difficult-to-machine materials such as stainless steel and mild steel. The A-Tap is compatible with various types of machining equipment, from manual machines to the latest advanced machining centers.
After sharing a great deal of cutting data with successful results, the customer was willing to put the A-Tap A-SFT spiral tap to the test.
During the cutting tool trial, we used six pieces of A-SFT (M8x1.25) to process three different materials – carbon steel, aluminum alloy and stainless steel, on the same machine. We ran the trial twice with a new tool for each material to measure results.
At the end of the trial, the average tool life was 1,400 holes in S50C at a cutting speed of 15 mm/min, 4,000 holes in ADC at a cutting speed of 20 mm/min, and 1,000 holes in SUS304 at a cutting speed of 10 mm/min. What’s more impressive is that all of the taps could continue to be used due to minimal wear. Because of the excellent versatility, performance and tool life, the number of taps required for this customer’s production could be reduced by 15%.
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