Tips on Machining Vol. 18
Tapping trouble and solutions
Part 1 (Preventing breakage)

Tapping is often the final machining process performed, making it very risky if failure occurs. This is especially true for M4 or smaller taps, which are thin and have low rigidity, and can often cause issues with breakage and machining precision faults.

We sometimes receive inquiries about tapping on topics such as sudden breakage, thread tearing, and thread gauge go/no-go abnormalities. In this series of articles, we will be discussing tapping breakage, thread defects, and thread accuracy faults. We will begin with tap breakage.