Roscamat Tapping Machine Spares to Keep Handy. The tapping machine is a piece of equipment that will earn its keep by running day after day after day and so the loss of a morning’s production due to running out of a simple consumable such as a tap or cutting fluid will be felt acutely. It is therefore recommended to keep a small stock of the various spares required for your tapping machine and have them available for immediate use.
Replacement Taps in Your Common Sizes
Taps are perhaps the most common item to be run out of whilst carrying out a tapping operation. Having a stock of spare taps in the common sizes that you use will save a lot of time and help prevent delay should a tap break. Taps are specified with a number of parameters, the most important for a metalworker being the pitch of the threads and the material that the tap is made from. For example, a tap made for use on aluminium will very quickly become blunt when used on mild steel.
Tap Adaptors and Collets
Adaptors connect your taps to the tapping machine’s drive shaft. Collets hold the taps in the adaptors. These components can wear in use and cause problems such as runout. It is worth checking for wear on your adaptors and collets and having a spare adaptor for each shank size that you use. Note that some of the Roscamat tapping machines have a quick change system so you will need to check the correct Roscamat tapping machine adaptor code for your tap shank size.
Safety Clutches
Safety Clutches – the dreaded broken tap! These do wear over time, sometimes losing torque and meaning they no longer release as they should. For Roscamat tapping machines the clutch can be supplied by torque rating, so check this for your required tap sizes. It is a good idea to have a spare clutch on hand, just in case. There is more on Roscamat Tapping Machines at //www.cotswold-machinery-sales.co.uk/roscamat-tapping-machines.
Motor Brushes
On electric tapping machines the carbon motor brushes wear over time. There is little warning as they can start to operate intermittently before they fail completely. As with any wearable part it is recommended to replace in pairs and of the same type number. Replacing a worn brush with a new one can result in both wearing quickly as they are designed to wear evenly.
Cutting Fluid
Cutting fluid is important for both the workpiece and the tool. A dry tap in steel is prone to blunting or breaking. The better quality tapping compounds have been formulated to stick to the cutting edge of the tap in use and are best used from a dedicated tapping fluid container rather than from a general oil container. Although a 1 Litre container of tapping fluid may seem small it is amazing how long it lasts.
A small stock of the required spare parts for a tapping machine will cost a few pounds and will be of far greater value than a batch of parts which have gone wrong or been left waiting for a back ordered part to arrive.
