We use roll form taps in aluminum. That's only 2x dia., so all the way through in one pass. 600 RPM seems about right. Follow the manufactures guidelines for surface speed/RPM. Lots of flood coolant.
We normally get thousands of holes out of a tap.
I don't do a lot of rigid tapping on my Haas DM-2, But I do some, and I am looking for some guidelines.
1/4 - 20 threads
6061 Aluminum stock is 1/2 thick
Hole is al the way through the stock.
Questions:
Recommended RPM ?
Should I use peck, or do it all in one pass ?
I'm currently tapping at 600 RPM, and I know this is probably way to slow..... so I figured I would see what other people are doing.
Thanks....
Kent
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We use roll form taps in aluminum. That's only 2x dia., so all the way through in one pass. 600 RPM seems about right. Follow the manufactures guidelines for surface speed/RPM. Lots of flood coolant.
We normally get thousands of holes out of a tap.
Jim Dawson
Sandy, Oregon, USA
Some factors to take in account:
1. Recommended cutting speed for the workpiece material.
2. Recommended cutting speed for the tap.
3. machine capability ( is there enough torque at selected rpm )
4. Local conditions. We use a special tapping oil. Saves the tool. Makes the cut perfect clean and ensures accuracy. It's expensive and requires manual intervention - must be applied manually for each hole. There are some ( aluminum, copper ) alloys impossible to tap without this oil.
Thank You Jim....