One Constant Strategy for Endless Variations - OSG
OSG Multi-Functional Extrusion Tap Technology Analysis
In recent years, demand for environmentally friendly tools has increased significantly due to growing social awareness of environmental issues. OSG's latest A-XPF high-efficiency multi-function form tap is a product designed to meet evolving manufacturing requirements. Compared to conventional products, A-XPF achieves higher processing efficiency, reducing machining time. Additionally, by providing longer tool life, it minimizes the frequency of tool changes required. Furthermore, stable, uninterrupted machining helps companies reduce power consumption.
Common Tapping Problems
The causes of tapping failures mentioned above are all related to chips. During tapping, chips often wrap around the tap, as shown below. If machining continues with chips already entangled, the tap may chip or break. Moreover, internal threads may suffer from poor thread formation.
Troubleshooting Solutions
To solve chip-related problems, OSG developed the A-XPF form tap, which creates threads through the plastic deformation of the workpiece material[citation:3][citation:9]. Consequently, no chips are generated during the tapping process. In other words, by utilizing A-XPF, issues caused by chips are completely eliminated, enabling stable and continuous machining, thereby significantly boosting productivity.
A-XPF Features
1. Special Tap Chamfer Design
A-XPF incorporates a special chamfer design that effectively reduces resistance when the tap enters the pilot hole.
2. Unique Thread Form
It uses a special thread form and new relief shape, ensuring high rigidity of the tap.
3. VI Coating
It utilizes the new VI coating. Building on OSG's 30-year history with V-coating, the enhanced VI coating was specifically developed for A-XPF.
1. Tap Chamfer Design
A-XPF's special chamfer design makes it less prone to chipping on the crest of the thread compared to conventional form taps. When a form tap enters the pilot hole, the crest of the thread in the chamfer section might chip. Chipped sections can lead to further breakage of the entire tap. A-XPF's special shape effectively suppresses chipping during machining. Compared to conventional products, A-XPF reduces machining resistance and provides a more stable resistance waveform amplitude. Therefore, the tool machines stably, resulting in better tool life and thread quality.
2. Special Thread Design
When using form taps, the crest of the tap thread might suddenly chip. Typically, the relief angle on form taps tends to prioritize sharpness and is edgeless. However, prioritizing sharpness compromises the rigidity of the tap thread. A-XPF employs a new relief angle design that suppresses sudden chipping of the thread crest. The diagram below compares the relief shapes of conventional form taps and A-XPF. The new relief maintains sharpness with the same form angle; the difference lies in the thickened design of the form land back, which ensures thread rigidity. The increased thickness is shown as the black area in the right figure.
3. New VI Coating
A-XPF uses a new VI coating specifically developed for taps. As shown in Figure 5, this coating structure is a chromium-based multi-composite layer. Compared to the conventional V-coating, VI coating offers better hardness, oxidation onset temperature, adhesion, wear resistance, and many other superior properties, as shown below. Since the new VI coating can handle high-load machining, it provides stable performance even in high-speed machining ranges compared to conventional products.
Results from using M6 x 1 A-XPF on SCM440 (30 HRC) workpiece material at a high cutting speed of 30 m/min. With the conventional V-coating, wear appeared after 7,000 holes. With the new VI coating, 11,000 to 12,000 holes could be machined. The new VI coating extended tool life by over 30% compared to the V-coating.
Machining Case Study
The figure below shows the excellent performance of A-XPF when machining alloy steel with a hardness of 30 HRC at a high speed of 30 m/min. Even within this speed range, A-XPF successfully completed 13,000 holes with stable tool life.
Machining Conditions
Compared to conventional products, A-XPF shows significant improvement in the applicable cutting speed range for mild steel, high-carbon steel, alloy steel, and heat-treated steel. A-XPF is versatile, suitable from low-speed to high-speed machining, offering a universal solution for a wide range of machining applications[citation:9].
By significantly reducing chip-related issues in the tapping process, productivity is greatly enhanced. Furthermore, A-XPF's special chamfer design and reinforced thread design enable excellent machining stability. For customers facing chip problems during tapping, the A-XPF multi-function form tap provides a reliable solution for various machining challenges.