What’s the Difference with Cut Taps?

All cut taps are not manufactured on equal footing. Most European and Japanese taps are produced from powdered metal blanks. This allows for improved performance of the cutting edge due to the irregular grain structure of the tool. Coatings are also “state of the art” and have a large impact on performance. An example of unique design is the LMT V-Magic Tap. The coating consists of a TICN multi-layer coating on the threads with a steam oxide coating in the gullet. It is designed to improve chip removal performance in materials that produce long erratic chip flow. The steam oxide coating has a greater coefficient of friction than the TICN and forces the curling chip to pack more densely as it flows away from the tap. This aids in controlling the chip flow and form improving the overall performance of the tap.

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