Product category:
Miscellaneous machine tools, gear cutting machines and equipment
News Release from: CTL Centreline | Subject: Special purpose tapping machine
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 14 July 2000
4000 holes tapped per hour
British manufacturer, Centreline, has built a special purpose machine for tapping 18 holes with three different pitches simultaneously in an aluminium alloy die casting.
British manufacturer, Centreline, has built a special purpose machine for tapping 18 holes with three different pitches simultaneously in an aluminium alloy die casting The customer is a US subcontractor which casts and machines the components for the Magnavox street lighting cell produced by Philips Broadband Networks
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Jun 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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Two right-angle heads - one for milling-intensive work and the other for drilling and tapping - can be exchanged automatically from a machining centre's tool magazine.
Unusual in this application is the ability to tap all 18 cast holes in one operation, despite their different thread pitches.
The correct speed for each spindle is achieved using appropriate gearing in the multi head.
Six holes are 5/16 inch diameter by 18 tpi (threads per inch) requiring 8.5 turns to tap, whilst another six are size 10 Imperial by 32 tpi which need 9 turns.
All these are blind holes.
The remainder break into an open core and are 5/16 inch by 24 tpi, requiring 6 turns.
Spiralock taps are used throughout.
The subcontractor, Stroh Die Casting Co Inc of Wisconsin, has used a similar Centreline Rapid-Tap machine since 1994 for another application.
The semi-automatic design minimises operator fatigue and ensures that every hole is tapped, eliminating the chance of human error.
Very high production rates can be achieved, floor-to-floor time in this application being 15 seconds.
The diecasting is inserted into a bespoke fixture which is then advanced towards the 18 taps in a Centreline multi head at the front of the Rapid-Tap.
When the taps engage, the fixture is pulled in automatically until a rear limit switch reverses the motor controlling the direction of tap rotation.
The fixtured component is returned by the tapping action to the start position for unloading.
As the power supply to the Rapid-Tap is 240 volts through a 3-phase inverter, the high torque necessary for tapping is available.
The inverter allows the rpm to be increased or decreased to suit smaller or larger taps should a different component be produced in the future.
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