X2 cnc finished for now maybe

[hoss2006]

Thanks Proj, Dang,
I'll work on a print for the holder I made now that I see it works.
Here's a couple sources to buy one.
http://www.edwardandrews.com/tapsst.asp
http://www.sommatool.com/catalog/eri...ap.holders.asp
MscDirect.com
There are many types of tap holder types to choose from:
ER Collet type
Biltz style
DA (Double-angle)
TT tap collets (Hardinge)
etc.

I used a drill chuck for simplicity ( going to put one of the new smaller chucks on there)
I've power tapped for years on Bridgeports at work using a drill chuck.
It works like an adjustable torque release collet so that if the tap binds up,
it will spin (hopefully) in the chuck and not snap off.
If the tap stops rotating, kill power and take it out by hand. Much better than trying
to dig out broken tap chunks.
The tension/compression gives you a bit of travel time to hit the E-Stop.
Hoss

[hoss2006]

Made Tapping Attachment 2 video today.
Shows it tapping 10-32 to 1/2-13 threads in 3/8 aluminum plate.
The little stepper is plenty torquey.
Still haven't broken a tap but did freeze the 1/2-13 the first time when it spun in the chuck.
Changed the program to allow more chip breaking and it worked great the 2nd time.
I made a complete set of programs to handle most TPI's up to 1/2-13.
I have them tap to .500 deep then put in M1 op stop.
If I need it to continue deeper, I hit Cycle Start and it will go to .750 them M1 again.
Repeats to 1.00 and 1.25 if needed.
Now when I need to put some threading in a program
I can copy and paste the code from these files for the depth I need.
Here's what I used for the 10-32:

(32 TPI)

G01 A4.0 Z-.125 F40
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A8.0 Z-.250
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A12.0 Z-.375
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A16.0 Z-.500
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
M1
G01 A20.0 Z-.625
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A24.0 Z-.750
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
M1
G01 A28.0 Z-.875
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A32.0 Z-1.000
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
M1
G01 A36.0 Z-1.125
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
G01 A40.0 Z-1.250
G01 A0.0 Z0.0
M2

The 1/2-13 program is much longer with chip breaking every .040 deep.
Think I'll try going the other way and see how many 4-40 taps I can break.
Now to get a slab of 12x24x.750 aluminum and make that tooling plate.
Later Hoss

http://www.hossmachine.com

[KOS]

hey hoss

here is my plate. it is aluminum but one row is drilled and tapped and has stainless steel heli coils in there, and then the other row is just drilled for dowel pins...so one row of screw holes and one row of dowel pin holes, screw then dowel etc etc...prob around 450 holes in total for this plate...

Just an idea anyways for the heli coils to save the threads...

[hoss2006]

I like the extra dowel pin holes KOS, I'll be doing the same.

It only took about 11 months, but I have a complete parts list
for the CNC Conversion here.
Hoss

http://www.hossmachine.com

[project5k]

i guess i havent found that special combination of things to do when i'm tapping small holes, I'm working on my controller box and drilled and tapped a bunch of holes in a heatsink for my geckos and ended up breaking 2 6-32 taps in the process, i've tried doing it by hand, and i just cant hold it straight, i've tried using the drillpress to just hold the tap and turning the spindle by hand, and i've tried putting the tap in a cordless drill, i gues i'm gonna have to get one of these auto tapping things or just start using larger holes...

suggestions?

my other questions is this, if i do break off a tap in the hole, how can i get it out? ive dried drilling them out, ive tried heat, all with no real luck...

[hoss2006]

These can aide broken tap extraction.
Tap Extractors by Walton
Extra Tap Extractor Fingers
This Hand Tapper makes tapping holes a piece of cake.
Hoss

[tpworks]

Harbor Freight has a hand tapper for $49.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46502

[hoss2006]

Got the 12 x 20 tooling plate machined and mounted this weekend.
Bought the stock at Online Metal Supply.
They also have some good deals they sell on Ebay,
that's where I got the 12 x 24 x .750 aluminum plate for $72.
Now I just have to drill and tap (240) 3/8-16 holes and drill and ream (209) .250 holes.
Eh, next weekend.
Hoss

[maxboostbusa]

Hey Hoss great job on all your upgrades, really shows what you can do with a product if you use a little imagination. Did you use preloaded ballnuts on your X-Y-Z axis'?

[Micro Rotors]

Originally Posted by project5k i guess i havent found that special combination of things to do when i'm tapping small holes, I'm working on my controller box and drilled and tapped a bunch of holes in a heatsink for my geckos and ended up breaking 2 6-32 taps in the process, i've tried doing it by hand, and i just cant hold it straight, i've tried using the drillpress to just hold the tap and turning the spindle by hand, and i've tried putting the tap in a cordless drill, i gues i'm gonna have to get one of these auto tapping things or just start using larger holes... suggestions? my other questions is this, if i do break off a tap in the hole, how can i get it out? ive dried drilling them out, ive tried heat, all with no real luck...

I use one of these,

http://www.littlemachineshop.com/pro...2571&category=
Yeah sure they are pricey, so I only bought the standerd, and I will make the metric one myself. Since I have bought this, I have not broken a single tap!!!!!

Thanks
Bill

[krymis]

hoss,
you have pm and e-mail. I am interested in contacting you.

[project5k]

I'm right in the middle of making my tooling plate as well, it was a chunk of off cut that i found at the local metal recycler... so i just dressed it up a bit and i'm gonna use it.. i was originally thinking about drilling and tapping the holes, but aftre some thought, i just decided that i'm gonna mill out pockets in the backside and epoxy nuts in, that way if i do ever strip one, i at least have a chance to dig it out... my plan is to mill the pockets so that the nuts just fit in there, so that they cant rotate, the epoxy will just hold them in, not try and keep them from rotating.. the one thing that i'm concerned with is chips filling the holes, and how to clean them out..

one other thought was to elevate the tooling plate off the table just a bit to help with the hole cleanout.. any thoughts??