Solid Carbide Thread Mills Make Threading Easy

[Geoffrey Less]

Interlocking components have to be machined with threaded surfaces to accommodate the correct bolt sizes. This leaves little room for error and the tools for manufacturing threads have to be extremely precise. For years, tap and die tools were considered to be one of the best options for cutting threads, but these tools are relatively slow and cannot complete a threaded surface in a single pass. Luckily powerful CNC milling machines and solid carbide thread mills are capable of cutting threaded surfaces quickly and accurately.

Thread mills are uniquely designed end mills that are used solely to cut screw threads into a workpiece. The fastest way to produce threads is to use a full form thread mill. These tools have a row of pointed cutting “teeth” along the length of their cutting surface. The spacing between these cutting points are designed to equal the pitch of the final threads. These tools are extremely useful because they can cut an entire threaded surface in a single 360 degree pass. During its rotation, the cutter drops the distance of a thread pitch, so that each cutting point terminates its cut where the point below it began. This creates a perfect helical threaded surface in seconds.

These full form thread mills are quick and easy to use, but they can only cut a single thread pitch size. They can cut many sizes of internal and external threads and they can cut both left hand and right hand threads as long as the pitch has to be the same across the board. These tools also require that workpieces be fairly secure, in order to handle the force of the large cutting surface. When it comes to working on more delicate components or milling different thread pitches with one tool, single pitch or single form end mills are the perfect choice.

Single pitch tools only have one pointed cutter instead of an entire row of “teeth”. This means that the tool has to trace along the entire length of the thread. While this process takes longer than cutting with a full form tool, it does come with its own distinct advantages. Single pitch cutters can mill a range of thread pitches and they are ideal for adding threads to thin or unstable sections of your workpiece.

In order to get the most out of your tools, solid carbide thread mills should be used. Carbide tools are stronger and retain their cutting edges better than steel tools. This makes them the ideal choice for thread milling applications, especially when you consider the delicate design of a thread mill’s cutting points.

If you are looking for some high qualitysolid carbide thread mills for your shop, you can find some incredible options from Online Carbide. As an American manufacturer of carbide end mills and drill bits, Online Carbide is dedicated to creating amazing tools and offering them at manufacturer direct prices. You can see their full catalogue, including thread mills, at www.Onlinecarbide.com.