Case Study: How Special Taps Significantly Improved Tool Life & Production

Dallas Kirkpatrick of Dallas Tooling was determined to solve a long standing problem for one of his customers. For years Positronic had been using form taps in small diameter, high production jobs.  Other major tap suppliers tested other tap styles and failed. “Tool life has been a constant problem” said Bob Durst of Positronic, “Failure usually was caused by chipping of the first full lobe and tool life was one shift at best.”

Dallas informed his local Regal Cutting Tools representative Brad Montgomery of this opportunity. 20 machines were being used, running two shifts on these parts daily. Rather than looking for a high performance special coated tap, Regal Cutting Tools recommended a high speed steel, TiN coated tap. This application required only 3-4 threads in the part and the combination of a slightly softer special tap with coating to enhance tool life was the perfect solution. “Not only do the parts meet the required specifications, the Regal tap runs for a week or more.” commented Dallas.

“What really leads to success is the service Regal Cutting Tools provides. To get a special tap from other companies takes a minimum of six weeks, I can get a special in ten days or less from Regal, which really helps figuring out what design is most productive”

When tools are not performing to the customers’ standards, providing the proper solution fast is what Regal does every day.

Need a custom tap for your facility? Regal can ship custom taps from blanks in 24 hours, and other complex special dimension and custom taps in just days, helping you find the best solution for the job in a timely manner. Request a Custom Tap today!