TAPPING TAPPING AND THREAD CUTTING Machinery's Handbook, 31st Edition
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Selection of Taps.— For most applications, a standard tap supplied by the manufacturer can be used, but some jobs may require special taps. A variety of standard taps can be obtained. In addition to specifying the size of the tap it is necessary to be able to select the one most suitable for the application at hand. The elements of standard taps that are varied are: the number of flutes; the type of flute, whether straight, spiral pointed, or spiral fluted; the chamfer length; the relief of the land, if any; the tool steel used to make the tap; and the surface treatment of the tap. Details regarding the nomenclature of tap elements are given in the section TAPS starting on page 969 , along with a listing of the standard sizes available. Factors to consider in selecting a tap include: the method of tapping, by hand or by ma - chine; the material to be tapped and its heat treatment; the length of thread, or depth of the tapped hole; the required tolerance or class of fit; and the production requirement and the type of machine to be used. The diameter of the hole must also be considered, although this action is usually only a matter of design and the specification of the tap drill size. Method of Tapping: The term hand tap is used for both hand and machine taps, and almost all taps can be applied by the hand or machine method. While any tap can be used for hand tapping, those having a concentric land without the relief are preferable. In hand tapping the tool is reversed periodically to break the chip, and the heel of the land of a tap with a concentric land (without relief) will cut the chip off cleanly or any portion of it that is attached to the work, whereas a tap with an eccentric or con-eccentric relief may leave a small burr that becomes wedged between the relieved portion of the land and the work. This wedging creates a pressure towards the cutting face of the tap that may cause it to chip; it tends to roughen the threads in the hole, and it increases the overall torque required to turn the tool. When tapping by machine, however, the tap is usually turned only in one direction until the operation is complete, and an eccentric or con-eccentric relief is often an advantage. Chamfer Length: Three types of hand taps, used both for hand and machine tapping, are available, and they are distinguished from each other by the length of chamfer. Taper taps have a chamfer angle that reduces the height about 8–10 teeth; plug taps have a chamfer angle with 3–5 threads reduced in height; and bottoming taps have a chamfer angle with 1 1 ∕ 2 threads reduced in height. Since the teeth that are reduced in height do practically all the cutting, the chip load or chip thickness per tooth will be least for a taper tap, greater for a plug tap, and greatest for a bottoming tap. For most through hole tapping applications it is necessary to use only a plug type tap, which is also most suitable for blind holes where the tap drill hole is deeper than the required thread. If the tap must bottom in a blind hole, the hole is usually threaded first with a plug tap and then finished with a bottoming tap to catch the last threads in the bottom of the hole. Taper taps are used on materials where the chip load per tooth must be kept to a minimum. However, taper taps should not be used on materials that have a strong tendency to work harden, such as the austenitic stainless steels. Spiral Point Taps: Spiral point taps offer a special advantage when machine tapping through holes in ductile materials because they are designed to handle the long continuous chips that form and would otherwise cause a disposal problem. An angular gash is ground at the point or end of the tap along the face of the chamfered threads or lead teeth of the tap. This gash forms a left-hand helix in the flutes adjacent to the lead teeth which causes the chips to flow ahead of the tap and through the hole. The gash is usually formed to produce a rake angle on the cutting face that increases progressively toward the end of the tool. Since the flutes are used primarily to provide a passage for the cutting fluid, they are usually made narrower and shallower thereby strengthening the tool. For tapping thin
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