Great Bang for the Buck

Since 1018 steel is typically used in many of their jobs, the shop conducted general tests on ½ in thick sections of 1018 plate. The challenge was to thread 100 holes and each tap was used until the threads were either out of tolerance, tearing out, or there was a general hole failure. The shop floor spent weeks testing taps and drilling holes because taps had been their biggest challenge.

The winner of the testing was the MultiTAP from Emuge Corporation (West Boylston, MA). This tool scored the best in terms of overall performance, life expectancy, availability and delivery, plus the extra reach DIN length was an attractive option. “These new taps clearly made the cut, so we reduced our broad tap inventory and replaced them with the new ones,” said Fritsch. “The new taps work well for our shop because they are the truest general purpose tap available. We now use these them in the majority of our applications and on a variety of materials. By eliminating that larger tap inventory, we also eliminated the confusion of which tap should be used in which application.”

The MultiTAP is the result of collective years of extensive tapping expertise and application research where design engineers chose a select base material and then developed a special cutting/flute geometry with a surface treatment that would work in as many common materials and applications as possible. The tap is constructed of a proprietary grade of high speed steel (HSS-E) and nitrited with an Ne2 surface treatment so that it can cut threads to both the common 2B class of fit as well as the tighter 3B class. The tap is made with a DIN length shank for extra reach – a trademark of Emuge.

By using its innovative geometric design with a special base material and surface treatment, one high performance MultiTAP can reduce production costs by significantly improving thread quality and boosting output on most common materials and applications.

SUCCESS ON TAP
These features led the shop to standardize operations by using the new tap for all their general purpose applications. This conformity saves almost two percent on tooling expenses per month, a cumulative savings of almost $20,000 per year. That’s not all. Another $20,000 to 25,000 per year is being saved by not having to burn out broken taps or replace defective parts.

Bayside also saves labor even on the time it takes when selecting taps. The Emuge taps have a substrate that is stronger and can withstand twisting, torque, slack. While Salesky extols the virtue of these new taps, he is careful to point out that MultiTAP is not a specialty production tap. “It is not designed to be a luxury sportscar; it’s more like a high quality pickup truck. This tap does not do what a special application tap would do in a production environment, but it does a great job across a broad spectrum of applications and materials. We chose it for its wide range of cutability and durability. And it’s a fair price for a good tap,” says Salesky.

Bayside now stocks approximately 400 MultiTAPs, both spiral point and spiral flute and has definitely found it easier to have one tap for multiple jobs. “Finding a tap that can run in almost everything at a decent cost is great for a shop like us,” concludes Salesky. “We were able to eliminate a lot of expensive tooling inventory. This tap offers a great bang for the buck across a variety of applications.”

“We’ve been using MultiTAP for about a year now and they still stand up,” adds Salesky. “Believe me, we get rid of tools fast if they don’t work – we have a really rough environment and our machinists want a tool they won’t have to worry about. MultiTAP is that tool.”

Bayside Machine Corporation, 2257 American Boulevard, De Pere, WI 54115.

Emuge Corporation, 1800 Century Drive, West Boylston, MA 01583, www.emuge.com.