DC Swiss UK tapping success for Sheffield Forgemasters.

DC Swiss UK tapping success for Sheffield based company, Sheffield Forgemasters.

The brief was to supply more than one option for drilling and threading that could easily achieve 200 threads in a typical pressure vessel material. Sounds straight forward but when you add that this feature would be machined in a component which requires a set of 5 metre combination ladders & specialist safety equipment just to get high enough to check machined feature areas. Also the threads are at 90 degrees to the main bore in a counterbore and close to the side wall. Plus, the size of the thread was M5, this is micro threading compared to the normal day to day sizes they operate with on their Bost VTL machine.

Sheffield Forgemasters had the machine software updated to make sure this huge machine could rigid synchro tap M5 and we went in armed with plan A, B & C as requested. With the help of the experienced team of programmers and operators we were soon drilling faster and more consistently than before and producing quality threads. We made some final adjustments to make sure the swarf was 100% clear of the tap before pitching over to the next hole, critical for this application. During the next couple of days, the trial continued with the same tool, and it reached a level that was almost double of what was required meaning plan B & C were not needed. These new tools and processes can now be implemented on the live production of these vast parts.

Taking the time to plan cutting trials, gather all the information and share it with all parties involved leads to successful results like this one.

Thank you to everyone at Sheffield Forgemasters for your help on the day.

For more information on how DC Swiss UK tapping applications could benefit you please get in touch.