Cutting-tool manufacturer Emuge Corp. reports strong sales for a line of taps it introduced late last year that are designed with CBTz chip-breaking technology to improve cutting of high-strength metals and, in the process, enhance productivity and upgrade efforts at full or partial automation of machining operations.
Emuge will showcase the Rekord DZBF Series taps, among other products, at IMTS in Chicago, Sept. 10-15. Emuge, based in West Boylston, Mass., is a subsidiary of German company Emuge-Werk Richard Glimpel GmbH & Co.
The taps feature chip-breaking technology developed by the German parent company that prevents the formation of long chips during tapping of carbon steels, alloy steels, austenitic stainless steels and aluminum. They are designed for blind-hole operations and not for through-hole applications.
The spiral-flute taps have proprietary geometries that generate chip-breaking actions, says Mark Hatch, Emuge’s product director of taps and thread mills. The benefit is the elimination of long, stringy chips whose buildup causes flute clogging and can lead to tap failure from premature chipping of the cutting tool. Emuge says the DZBF taps reduce machine downtime, prolong tool life, improve threading operations and refine thread finish.
There is no standard length when it comes to predicting maximum chip size with the DZBF taps, Hatch says, other than a chip “will break” and be removed before it becomes a problem. The length of breakage varies by size, pitch and diameter of the tap and by the tensile strength of the metal.
Emuge describes the DZBF Series taps as manufactured of premium cobalt high-speed steel and ground with eccentrically relieved threads that provide full pitch diameter relief. The taps are coated with titanium nitride to reduce workpiece friction.
Tap sizes range from 0.5 to 2.0 inches diameter. The taps can be used on horizontal and vertical machining centers.
Rekord DZBF taps from Emuge are shaped to reduce chip buildup and prevent clogging during cutting operations.
Hatch says the taps carry a price premium over conventional versions. “This is the highest end relative to performance,” he remarks about the taps. The price appears justified, however, since Hatch notes that the DZBF taps can “run for hundreds of holes” and last “10 to 20 times longer” than conventional taps.
Emuge sees oil field, petrochemical and power-generation industries, among others, as viable end-markets for the DZBF taps. Hatch says the taps are especially useful for large parts such as blowout preventers and offshore drilling components fabricated of 4140, 4340 and 8620 steels for the oil industry. They are also finding use in installations of valves manufactured of 300 series stainless steels.
By improving the reliability and productivity of tapping operations, Hatch says the DZBF taps suit plants that run advanced and increasingly automated machining centers. “Companies are running multiple machines with minimal staffing,” he remarks, with one operator responsible for two or three machines. “If an operator has to keep stopping a machine to clear off chips, it’s going to be expensive.”
Hatch notes, “Companies are looking for ways to use advances in tooling technology to have their machines run as unmanned as possible with predictable results.”
