Tapping vs thread milling--where's the dividing line?

摘要

Threading a workpiece is a fundamental metalworking process every manufacturing engineer takes for granted. Yet this commonplace process is by no means as simple as it sounds. Basically, there are two means of making a threaded hole: tapping and thread milling. After that, it gets more complicated. Most everyone in metalworking and manufacturing is familiar with tapping and probably has a grasp of the subject. Tapping is used primarily to make threads in small holes and ranges from minuscule 00-90 taps to taps that can measure up to—and sometimes exceed—4" dia.