Editorial team · Machine tools
InfoWeb Marketplace · Editorial team
Published on 5 November 2013 · 3 min read
VariTap™ WIDIA™ for Superior Tapping Performance
InfoWeb Marketplace · Editorial teamPublished on 5 November 2013 · 3 min read
Superior tapping performance in multiple materials with the VariTap™ WIDIA™
The very latest tools are the result of 140 years of experience in tap design and engineering, delivering uncompromising performance
Manufacturers, especially job shops, know better than anyone the pressure of growing customer demands and equally high demands for cost control. For many shops, versatile tools have been a way of getting the job done by bridging the gaps (excellent for some materials and ?good enough? for others).
Field tests confirm that the VariTap™ WIDIA™ offers the best of both worlds: superior tapping performance in multiple materials without sacrificing either part quality or tool life.
?By nature, job shops need the most complete toolbox possible to handle the various jobs that come up every day,? explains Marcelo Campos, Tapping Product Manager at WIDIA. ?VariTap draws on more than 140 years of hands-on experience to give today's shops the ability to handle different types of applications and materials with a single solution.
The VariTap design delivers high performance without compromise, with no need to stock specific or custom taps for aluminums, stainless steels, cast irons, etc.?
The VariTap design incorporates a patented flute geometry that reduces tapping torque, which extends tool life while effectively pushing chips forward in through holes. The optimized spiral point helps with chip evacuation, which reduces chip build-up in blind holes.
WIDIA's significant investments in manufacturing processes include state-of-the-art CNC grinders with robotic loading and a sophisticated coating unit which, combined with the VariTap's white/HSS-E high-vanadium high-speed steels, greatly improve wear resistance. The VariTap can also be used with all types of tap holders, including: tension/compression holders, rigid holders and synchronous holders.
Five to six times longer tool life
Founded in 1966 in Avon (Indiana, USA), Mears Machine Corporation is a global supplier of precision machined components and complex fabrications for a wide range of industries.
The goal is to provide every customer with a fast and competitive solution. According to the company, every order is unique. Having the best, most advanced equipment is only one aspect of the quality equation; experience is decisive! Mears approaches the quality equation with seasoned machinists who have broad experience with a wide variety of materials: nickel, cobalt, iron, aluminum and titanium alloys.?
Having the right tools is essential, which is why the company wanted to try the VariTaps for itself. ?We love them,? says Steve Earnest, former plant manager with 20 years of career at Mears Machine. ?We were using standard HSS taps, mainly in 347 stainless steel.
They were good-quality taps, but we felt we were not getting all the results we expected from them. We agreed to field-test the VariTaps and we then realized that they lasted at least five times, and in some cases six times, longer than the taps we were using.?
A VariTap for every conceivable scenario
WIDIA™ does not just bring selected VariTap options to market, but on the contrary a wide range of VariTap choices, with more than 1600 items in stock. ?There is a VariTap for every tapping scenario,? stresses Marcelo Campos. ?In DIN dimensions for Europe, ANSI for North America (including DIN lengths on ANSI shanks) and JIS for Asia.?
For more than 80 years, the products and services of the WIDIA brand have been synonymous with innovation in the metal cutting sector, from the world's first patent for carbide indexable inserts to the development of the very first coated grades.
WIDIA offers a complete range of precision products and customized services. Thousands of tooling systems and products for milling, turning and drilling, and a worldwide network of authorized distributors: you find everything you need from a single supplier.
The very latest tools are the result of 140 years of experience in tap design and engineering, delivering uncompromising performance
Manufacturers, especially job shops, know better than anyone the pressure of growing customer demands and equally high demands for cost control. For many shops, versatile tools have been a way of getting the job done by bridging the gaps (excellent for some materials and ?good enough? for others).
Field tests confirm that the VariTap™ WIDIA™ offers the best of both worlds: superior tapping performance in multiple materials without sacrificing either part quality or tool life.
?By nature, job shops need the most complete toolbox possible to handle the various jobs that come up every day,? explains Marcelo Campos, Tapping Product Manager at WIDIA. ?VariTap draws on more than 140 years of hands-on experience to give today's shops the ability to handle different types of applications and materials with a single solution.
The VariTap design delivers high performance without compromise, with no need to stock specific or custom taps for aluminums, stainless steels, cast irons, etc.?
The VariTap design incorporates a patented flute geometry that reduces tapping torque, which extends tool life while effectively pushing chips forward in through holes. The optimized spiral point helps with chip evacuation, which reduces chip build-up in blind holes.
WIDIA's significant investments in manufacturing processes include state-of-the-art CNC grinders with robotic loading and a sophisticated coating unit which, combined with the VariTap's white/HSS-E high-vanadium high-speed steels, greatly improve wear resistance. The VariTap can also be used with all types of tap holders, including: tension/compression holders, rigid holders and synchronous holders.
Five to six times longer tool life
Founded in 1966 in Avon (Indiana, USA), Mears Machine Corporation is a global supplier of precision machined components and complex fabrications for a wide range of industries.
The goal is to provide every customer with a fast and competitive solution. According to the company, every order is unique. Having the best, most advanced equipment is only one aspect of the quality equation; experience is decisive! Mears approaches the quality equation with seasoned machinists who have broad experience with a wide variety of materials: nickel, cobalt, iron, aluminum and titanium alloys.?
Having the right tools is essential, which is why the company wanted to try the VariTaps for itself. ?We love them,? says Steve Earnest, former plant manager with 20 years of career at Mears Machine. ?We were using standard HSS taps, mainly in 347 stainless steel.
They were good-quality taps, but we felt we were not getting all the results we expected from them. We agreed to field-test the VariTaps and we then realized that they lasted at least five times, and in some cases six times, longer than the taps we were using.?
A VariTap for every conceivable scenario
WIDIA™ does not just bring selected VariTap options to market, but on the contrary a wide range of VariTap choices, with more than 1600 items in stock. ?There is a VariTap for every tapping scenario,? stresses Marcelo Campos. ?In DIN dimensions for Europe, ANSI for North America (including DIN lengths on ANSI shanks) and JIS for Asia.?
For more than 80 years, the products and services of the WIDIA brand have been synonymous with innovation in the metal cutting sector, from the world's first patent for carbide indexable inserts to the development of the very first coated grades.
WIDIA offers a complete range of precision products and customized services. Thousands of tooling systems and products for milling, turning and drilling, and a worldwide network of authorized distributors: you find everything you need from a single supplier.
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