Well, I finally got to test out the rigid tapping on real material, and it works great! I did 96 2-56 holes. Since it was thick material, I couldn't use the combined drill-taps, they are rated for 2 X the major diameter, and will do a little more if you are careful. You have to drill at a low feed and then do the tapping cycle once the hole is through.
So, I had to spot all the parts first, change to a drill and peck drill all the pilot holes and then do the tapping cycle. I broke one tap because I had a chip in the fixture, and the pre-drilled holes didn't line up with the tap. Otherwise it ran fine. Tapping 2-56 holes at 1200 RPM was quite a sight to see! I did have a problem with my spindle VFD getting overheat alarms, so I had to put a fan on it. Jon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
