It started with the wheel and later led to the telephone and electricity. Invention and discovery continue to change the face of our world as we know it. Thread rolling developed in the early twentieth century and has mostly remained constant since its invention. While difficult materials can be rolled, the life of the rolls themselves are limited when compared to mild steels. Nitriding was one means of improving roll life and reducing part cost but also had marginal benefit. Recently a new method has emerged that has shown the ability to improve tool life dramatically. It requires secondary processing of the basic thread roll that adds time to delivery as well as an increase in roll cost by 50% to 70% above the cost of the manufactured roll but the results can be staggering.
We presently have a customer running 17-4PH Stainless Steel that is achieving a 1000% increase in basic roll life. The cost benefit is dramatic, the downside for us is a 10-fold reduction in roll sales to this customer. We pride ourselves on our attention to technology and the goal of being the most valued supplier our customers do business with.
The new technology to improve wear resistance on thread rolls can probably be used on any part that sees friction wear as a failure mode. We can offset our thread roll sales loss by employing the technology into other tools not presently strong in our sales forecasts. Parts that fail due to friction, gears, wear plates, hobs, mold and die plates as well as a multitude of other components could well be strong candidates for improvement. Is friction a contributor to your tooling cost? Contact us, we would like to offer a solution and allow you to speak with our end users that are on the cusp of dramatic change in threading cost.