Product category:
Threading tools
News Release from: Horn Cutting Tools | Subject: Thread milling tooling
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 31 August 2007
Insert tools mill large diameter screw
threads
Thread milling is used by specialist engineers as a high productivity method for machining large diameter threads in carbon steel and high toughness metals.
Thread milling tooling supplied by Horn UK has provided TM Specialist Engineers, Kingswinford, UK, with a high productivity method for machining large diameter threads in carbon steel So successful was this first project TM subsequently commissioned CBN-tipped Horn thread milling tools for machining high toughness material
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Apr 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The project was the manufacture of large shielding blocks required for the GBP 140 million ISIS particle accelerator second target station project at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxford.
These components each needed a number of lifting point locations, demanding generation of M36 x 4mm blind threads to a depth of 70mm.
In all, around 830 threads needed to be generated.
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It is feasible to produce this size of thread by manual tapping, but the number required, and that they were blind holes and the need for consistent quality led TM to consider CNC thread milling.
Machine shop manager Martyn Crompton said: "Manual tapping would have been fairly slow and interrupted the flow of work.
In addition tapping carried a risk of thread damage due to broken or worn taps and there was also a possibility of tap breakage." One of the company's employees had had prior experience of using the Horn thread milling system and recommended that contact be made with Horn UK.
"The response from Horn UK was immediate," Crompton recalled.
"We were able to conduct trials prior to starting manufacture of the blocks which then allowed production to flow smoothly.
The Horn UK applications engineer gave us complete support in respect of tooling selection, CNC programming for the threading cycle and cutting data".
* Thread milling cutters - a standard Type 328 three tooth threading insert mounted on an M328 shank was used for the trial.
A cutting speed of 220m/min and feedrate of 470mm/min combined with 2.5 mm depth of cut provided a cycle time of less than 2 min/thread.
"Using the Horn tooling provided us with a very high quality thread in a fraction of the time that would have been necessary for tapping." Crompton said.
"The method also provides us with 'peace of mind' as the process is much more controlled.
This has encouraged us to look to use Horn's tooling and applications expertise on other projects".
* About TM Specialist Engineers - TM Specialist Engineers has nearly 60 years experience of heavy fabrication, large component machining and custom machine building.
The company specialises in combining large size with high precision for the benefit of power generation, aerospace, defence and large scale scientific applications.
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