Thread Mills Combine Pros of Thread Milling, Tapping

Walter USA’s range of T2711/T2712 thread milling cutters for large threads has been expanded with three new inserts and two tool bodies for cutting M56 and M64 threads. The tools are appropriate for all dimensions in the coarse-pitch thread range. According to the company, the cutter family increases productivity by combining the advantages of thread milling with those of thread tapping. It enables simultaneous machining of multiple thread sections with high cutting parameters, delivering machining times comparable to those of thread tapping and forming.

In addition to faster machining speeds, the tools provide the process reliability associated with thread milling as well as the cost benefits associated with indexable insert tools. The inserts with smaller corner radii enhance the versatility of the existing tool bodies in the tool family, and the two new tool bodies add the capability of cutting M56 and M64 coarse-pitch threads. UNC, UNF, M and MF thread sizes starting at 1" (24 mm) in diameter can be machined with the existing T2711/T2712 tool bodies and inserts.

The inserts enable users to cut finer pitches. The multiple-row bodies of the inserts can cut not just one or two but multiple pitches when the row spacing is an integral multiple of the pitch. With the new tool bodies, virtually any pitch between 6 to 18 threads per inch (1.5 and 6 mm) can be cut. These features are said to enable cutting of common as well as less common thread sizes.