Tapping (Topic: 16180)

For tapping stronger alloys, standard taps such as those used for steel or brass are suitable, but special taps for machining aluminium give better results. Taps for aluminium should have deep, wide and well polished flutes. Spiral-fluted taps are preferable for blind holes, while straight flutes are suitable for through-holes. Cutting fluids are normally used when tapping aluminium.

Some typical values for tapping

An alternative to tapping is thread rolling.

References: [2,3,6]