Tapping Handle vs Air Tapping Tool

How are the holes drilled? Could the tapping be done in the same setup with the drilling?

That is, of course, how it should be done. But due to a complicated set of circumstances, it's not. No, I just need to explore better alternatives to tapping in situ, than using tap handles and less than enthusiastic workers that can stretch out a tapping job into a half day.

Try one of these:

http://www.flexarminc.com/index.html

We have used one for 15 years, woks great!

Thanks, but no. If I could get the part under a flexarm, I would also be able to get it under a drill press with a tapping head.

These parts are too large. And the holes are tapped in situ.

A pragmatic question (please, no offense is intended, it's just a question):

Does this fabrication shop operate under a collective bargaining agreement?

No.

Union-free zone. It's a medium sized company that still operates under mom n pop parameters.

I've used Tapmatics before... in drill presses. I can't get my parts into a drill press, or any machine. These holes are situated up on top of 15' tall structural frame assemblies where the guy must climb and straddle a 6x6 square tube, or on vertical surfaces. They are on semi-assembled large machines, not on pre-fab small parts.

Ah... spiral tap. It's called an electricians tap? I'm curious why.

But I have heard that using spiral taps in the way I described does cut down on broken taps. I'll have to look into that... just chucking it into a regular battery powered drill, as Doorman mentioned. Battery drill is what I normally use, but have not tried to see what benefit a spiral tap might have.

They (spiral tap) clear the chips better, that's for sure. Can be run in a little faster.

A roll tap does not produce chips-of course the drilled hole size must be adjusted.

Also depends on the material being tapped.

My experience has been excellent provided lube is used and material is compatible with the roll tap process.

DB

Never used one myself.

I'd think there'd be a learning curve and you'd need operators with some "feel".

Good luck.

One of my duties when new equipment arrives is to mount equipment. Almost always it is in sheet aluminum, or stainless steel sheets. The Greenlee taps you show have saved me many hours of tapping. I find that they do tend to be brittle, but that with a can of lube in one hand, and the cordless drill in the other, I do real well.

Seen literally (actually) millions (that's aus with 6 "0's") of holes tapped using air driven tools. While it is possible with care to achieve a long life from the taps, there are a couple of issues that I see you would face.

My suggestion however is to either get the dedicated driver or something like a "Tech" driver where the clutch disengages instantly pressure is removed. Power drills tend to continue rotation due to gear and rotor inertia.

The first challenge is if the tap breaks 50' above ground level, the time and effort to remove the tap, remedy the hole and re-tap might not be worth the effort. Especially if there is even one reluctant operator who "chooses" to break a tap so the job still spans the whole day.

The second challenge is the operators themselves and the workplace described. We all know that it is easy to break a tap at any time. The operators, sitting on a beam, 50' up in the air, with the necessary safety equipment would have to add another few pound of equipment to their kit (The driver), compared to the few ounces for the hand tap. Moving around with the extra weight would be just that little bit more awkward.

Good luck.

Also, what will happen to the saved time? Will it actually mean less labour hours for the job, or will it mean that one operator is idle for hours while the others complete their tasks. This might make the one job seem favoured and create tension within the team.

Why can't they be tapped before erection? Are they pre-drilled?

No, not 50'... 15'. Our machine frames are generally 10' - 15' tall. The holes are not always on that top beam, I was just making the point that they are not small parts that can be put in a drill press. It's usually somewhere on an assembled frame, or wall of the machine cabinet; or the floor of the machine, for that matter.

I believe the tech driver you speak of is a version of the tap drivers that cost close to $1000. That is under consideration.

The labor situation here is very informal. Almost everyone is a welder/assembler, and everyone just does whatever needs to be done. The saved time would just help us to stay on schedule and get the machines finished and shipped that much quicker.

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree. Although I was hoping to get some feedback on the hand tool that is specifically designed for tapping, I see that so far no one has had experience with that specialized tool, which leads me to believe that it isn't a very commonplace method, for whatever reason. I'm going to guess that reason is the seemingly disproportionately high price.

Also, given the fact that the consensus here generally has no basic problems with using a drill for this purpose, other than the need for developing a certain touch or knack for it... that gives me better confidence to press my case and try to convince the GM to try what I've suggested.

I appreciate everyone's input.

There are special reversible dapping drills. Pushing forward engages CW rotation, driving the drill/tap inward. Pulling back reverses the motor to withdraw the tap/drill. This scheme works well for small holes in say, electrical backplanes. I haven't tried it in larger/deeper holes.

Why not do as the automotive manufacturers do:Use self tapping screws.Drill pilot hole, and it taps it's own hole as it is tightened.

That explains things....such as Cavaliers....

They all use them...Hondas,Toyotas,Mercedes,etc.

They are only used where the metal is thin and threads are fine as a result.

As for Caviliers, I had one..or rather it had me...sorriest piece of engineering that ever was excreted by Detroit.(IMHO). It broke me from all GM products.Any company that would sell that has very low standards of quality.Should have let it go bankrupt instead of letting it become Government Motors.

GM claims to have repaid the government bail out loans, but it borrowed money from another government fund to do it.Still running in our money.

RIP GM.

I now buy Accords exclusively.

Yes, as you said, the metal must be very thin for self-tappers. That isn't the case here.

OoBEx,

Actually, self-tapping screws are also available to drill and tap into steel as thick as 1/2". I know them under the type (brand?) name of TEK-7. When you drop one the "ping" sound it makes is very high-pitched, because of its being hardened. I've used them and they work well.

--JMM

Two suggestions:

1. Tapping in SS is relatively difficult, more chances of tap getting seized. If permissible, go for slightly larger pilot hole.

2. Taps mostly get broken when retracting. Wherever possible, try tapping all the way through and take out the tap from other side.

I may end up printing this out, or perhaps sending this link to a couple people here. It could sway their opinion.

how about one of these?

http://www.hougen.com/mag_drills/hmd904/hmd904.html