TOTEM – HPT – High Speed Steel Taps

Technical Details
Surface treatment

While selecting the correct type of tap for a job, the material to be tapped should also be considered. This may determine the surface coating that should be applied to the tap in order to extend its life. Most taps are supplied with no surface treatment. They are referred to as ‘Bright Finish’. These taps are mainly for use on non-ferrous materials, or steels that do not cold weld. Bright finish taps are therefore suitable for all hand operations, where speeds are too low for cold welding to occur, and for most machine operations.

Steam Oxide:
A black oxided surface (Fe3O4) produced on the surface of a finished tap by means of a steam furnace. This oxidized surface is porous and helps retain cutting fluid in the working portion of the tap. The materials on which steam oxide has shown improvement in performance are stainless steels, steel forgings, tool and die steels, hot and cold rolled steels, and high nickel alloys.

Titanium Nitride (TiN):
A thin deposit (approx. 0.0001”) applied to the surface of a finished tap utilizing PVD coating technology. TiN coating increases the surface hardness and wear resistance. Use of TiN coating on standard tools will help increase tool life in harder materials (up to 32 HrC), such as stainless steels, steel forgings, tool and die steels and hot and cold rolled steels. TiN coating also works very well with water-base cutting fluids.

Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN):
Similar to TiN, TiCN is applied utilizing PVD coating technology. This coating combines high hardness (approx. 2800 vickers) with the anti-seizure properties of Nitride. A lower coefficient of friction helps reduce welding by 75% over TiN coated tools. These features make TiCN especially beneficial in non-ferrous material and hardened steels.

Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN):
TiAlN is applied using PVD coating technology. The addition of aluminium reduces friction and increases the coating oxidation temperature. As a result, TiAlN has increased resistance to heat and oxidation wear. This makes TiAlN better suited for High Speed/High Heat applications. TiAlN coating is incorporated into many of our tools.