Tapping very small holes on titanium

[DIYist]

I need to tap some 1.4mm or maximum 1.6mm thread on grade two titanium and maybe some grade five parts. I've search both OSG and Emuge catalogs but noticed that taps for titanium seen to start from 3/4mm onward.

Is there any brand that have taps for titanium of those sizes? If not, what types of tap can I use? Carbide? HSS? Coated/non-coated? Fluteless/fluted?

[Stepper Monkey]

I don't know about any specific taps for the purpose, other than those sold by body jewelry suppliers to thread titanium body jewelry (which is usually cast and somewhat soft as Ti goes). I have had to use these taps for titanium body jewelry before, and I would strongly suggest building a guide plate.
For any taps that small it is an absolute must, as any modeler or jeweler will attest. VERY small lateral forces will snap the taps, and it is impossible not to get those lateral forces without using a guide plate - even in easy to tap metals! It's also damned easy to mis-thread and not know it.
If you don't know what one looks like, micro modeler or jewelers websites will surely have instructions. At its most basic it is much like a drill guide - a plate that clamps down to the part to be tapped that has a hole or sleeve bearing for the smooth shaft of the tap to rotate in. The tap part sticks out the bottom of course, and the square shaft sticks out the top just far enough for the tap handle to fit on. This prevents any misalignment that can cause cross-threading, mis-tapping, or lateral motion.
They may seem like a pain to build, but it is much less time and heartache than replacing (and removing!) all those broken little taps....

[NC Cams]

One problem with machining titanium is that you have to CUT it without work hardening it. Should you work or friction heat the material, you form titanium oxide with is VERY hard and VERY britttle. Since titanium oxide is used as an abrasive, it can be very hard on tooling.

Depending on how many holes you want/need to tap, you might want to consider EDM. Pricey? Yes but much less troublesome than trying to remove broken taps stuck in an expensive titanium widget.

[azmachinist]

I know this is an old post but I would like to add to this post for anybody that may come across this.

I have had great success tapping titanium using Balax brand taps. They make taps for specifically for titanium. I recommend using roll-form taps only. I was tapping 2-56 threads all day long. I find you can not use machine coolant to tap very small diameter holes (4-40 and below). At least I do not. Also the tapping fluid we use is called Molly-D. Great fluid for tapping small diameter Titanium and Stainless. Or any high chrome content type of material.

The Molly-D tap fluid is magic.

We tapped at around 250 rpm and make sure to get fluid in the hole and on the tap.

For a large production run this may be a problem due to stopping the machine to take care of lubing the tap. But for small production runs or a few parts this is a good setup.

Hope this may help some machinists.

[SWPM]

I would reccomend using a peck tap cycle for this. I tap small holes in heat treated stainless and have had alot of luck using this. I dont know what control you are using so i would recomend contacting the dealer and getting the parameters needed.

Good luck

[rharter52]

Did you try thread milling,I have had a lot of success thread milling 2-56 tapped holes x .25 deep in 40 rc steel.

[kalmah]

Originally Posted by DIYist I need to tap some 1.4mm or maximum 1.6mm thread on grade two titanium and maybe some grade five parts. I've search both OSG and Emuge catalogs but noticed that taps for titanium seen to start from 3/4mm onward. Is there any brand that have taps for titanium of those sizes? If not, what types of tap can I use? Carbide? HSS? Coated/non-coated? Fluteless/fluted?

For the threading of titanium with its kind of diameter (diam 0.6 to 2mm), the whirling tool are the more efficient. It's like thread mill, but it works in every material from 0.6mm. Instead of one helical tool path, you do several helical tool path. It's longer process than tapping, but the tool life duration is very high. It the tool break, the part isn't considerate as scrap.

Here is an example
http://www.dixipolytool.ch/fileadmin...s_gb_06_06.pdf

The products whirling tool are 1730 - 1731 - 1739 (one profile)
http://www.dixipolytool.ch/fileadmin...tage_06_gb.pdf


http://www.dixipolytool.ch/fileadmin...tage_06_gb.pdf

If you are more intersted send me a private message, I can give you more information (programm,...)

[eorourke]

Thread whirling is one option. If you have helical interpolation, you can thread whirl or you can threadmill. Carmex has threadmills that small that were initially developed for the dental trade. One of our customers was able to threadmill over 3000 holes with one threadmill in 6AL-4V titanium.

[simonlawrence]

Originally Posted by azmachinist I know this is an old post but I would like to add to this post for anybody that may come across this. I have had great success tapping titanium using Balax brand taps. They make taps for specifically for titanium. I recommend using roll-form taps only. I was tapping 2-56 threads all day long. I find you can not use machine coolant to tap very small diameter holes (4-40 and below). At least I do not. Also the tapping fluid we use is called Molly-D. Great fluid for tapping small diameter Titanium and Stainless. Or any high chrome content type of material. The Molly-D tap fluid is magic. We tapped at around 250 rpm and make sure to get fluid in the hole and on the tap. For a large production run this may be a problem due to stopping the machine to take care of lubing the tap. But for small production runs or a few parts this is a good setup. Hope this may help some machinists.

i have to cut several threads in titanium grade 2. i would like to have standard tap sizes 14 , 15 , 16 . and 18 . in 1mm and 1.5 pitch . do i need to rigid tap as in forward reverse or should i go straight through ( 13mm deep hole) what is the best tool for these threads . all on a haas tl1

[simonlawrence]

i am just about to take delivery of a haas tl1 soon (april 09) i heard that i can gain extra features by programming them in the key pad without buying them . does anyone know about that? also when rigid tapping , do i need a special holder with torque control or can i hold the tap rigid in an er32 holder