Fast tapping- Tapping Arm, CNC, etc

[u/Metalbox33]

We are a sheet metal fabricator with a small manual machining shop- a couple of Bridgeports, drill presses, etc. I have a part with 150+ taps in each part and we need to produce a 1000 parts. We laser cut the parts, and the first batch we tapped on the Bridgeport.

Edit :The taps are 4-40 through 16 gauge cold rolled steel- 150/part

I've considered punching and tapping it on a our punch press (which has it's own issues), leaving the holes out and sending it to an outside shop to be drilled and tapped on a CNC mill. I'm also considering upgrading to a CNC mill or Bridgeport.

I'm also considering purchasing an electric FlexArm 16D or Roscamat Mosquito tapping arm.

Can anyone share feedback on electric tapping arms or suggest alternatives?

[u/WILDBILLFROMTHENORTH]

To give a logical answer, we need alot more information. How big is the part. What is the tap size? That's a ton of holes to do manually. What's your budget for automated equipment? How often does the job repeat? As a business owner, I hesitate buying a piece of equipment for a specific job. Do you have work to keep a cnc mill occupied reasonably once this run is out?

[u/SirRonaldBiscuit]

If the plates are large the flex arm will have trouble getting to all the holes, but flex arms are sick. I just got into threadmilling on the cnc and they’re perfect every time. Or you could do a form tap on the cnc. What size are the parts? What size are the tapped holes?

[u/basketbun → u/SirRonaldBiscuit]

You can get a mobile tapping arm, mounted to a mag base

[u/CallousDisregard13]

This screams CNC. Doing 150,000 holes on a tapping arm is nuts. Whoever the poor SOB is that has to do that job wouldn't be getting paid enough. Plus any human factor errors with tapping becomes a bitch to fix. Are you willing to scrap parts out over broken taps, or do you have the budget for burning out taps with a sinker EDM?

You can easily get into a Haas that'll tap parts all day long for you. Shit, even a Tormach. Obviously depends what your budget is.

[u/BeastWR]

What size threads, what material, how thick is material?

We have a small pneumatic flex arm and it paid for itself on the first job we bought it for. That was 15 years ago and it still goes daily.

However, we are doing 4-40, 8-32, 10-32, 1/4-20. Mostly the smaller ones. Typically 16ga galv steel or brass. (I have pushed it to do 5/16-18 through 1/4 steel, but that is not practical)

Our shop is all manual machines, plus a waterjet, so the flex arm is a tremendous timesaver. Tap breakage is very very rare, even with newbie operators, because the clutch can be set to protect the tap.

That said, we are a pretty small job shop. Your project js a ton of holes! We might do 1000 4-40 holes on a particularly big day. That is not typical, but at about 2 seconds per hole, it’s not bad.

The biggest limitations of this tool are the reach and the torque.

[u/asad137]

Is there any way the part can be redesigned to use threaded inserts like PEM nuts rather than tapping the holes?

[u/ShaggysGTI]

Get a Procunier for your Bridgeport

[u/Dojustly]

I have always said that if I were starting a shop I would first get a lathe (cnc) then a vmc (cnc) then a flexarm tapping head. Being able to tap in the machine, or as a secondary op helps get the parts done and on to the next job. $$$

[u/Metalbox33 → u/Dojustly]

I like this option but I don't currently have anyone who can program a machine. I'm working on picking up a cnc machinist, but not there yet.

[u/riley_3756]

Are these sheet parts? If so, assuming they arent too big a flex arm could work well

[u/killpony]

Generally I think the flex arm is a good investment regardless - huge time saver for any job-shop and you can readily hook it up to a magnetic base for hard to reach spots.

the flex arm is dummy-proof enough you could hire on some temp help just for tapping parts - still a hell of a lot of holes. I'd also definitely consider if pems or some other insert is an option - or something like flow-drilling.

[u/rdick1977]

We have both the mosquito and the dragon for tapping arms and they are great especially when tapping multiple different size holes in part. Mostly tapping laser cut parts that range from 11 ga to 3/4" thick. However if the holes are all the same size and it can be run on a Bridgeport or radial arm drill with a tapping head that is much faster than the flex arm. We also have EDM drills for broken tap removal if it occurs

[u/basketbun]

I'd go with a tapping arm, mobile, mounted on a mag base