Does anyone have any experience roll tapping titanium. We have parts made from TiGALV4 and they are trying to roll tap them 9/16"-18 UNJ 3B and the titanium keeps sticking to the tap after the first hole and then the no go starts to go and the threads get rough. They used an oversized drill (.5394") and moly-dee and it became very hot. Any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

So you do not think that the BXD4000 is not a good tool choice? We would have to buy a new cutter or use a carbide end mill, which I am concerned will not hold up long enough. It says it is recomended for stainless and there are stainless grade inserts for it. I have lathed 304 before but not milled it. As far as warping goes, the material will be pre-ground to finish thickness, and the ribbed pocket is all one one side of the part. So I cannot flip the part.

I have to do a large detailed pocket in a piece of 304 that is 1"x40"x40". I have estimated cutting it with my BDX4000 at 14.0fpm and 1800rpm with doc at .05" a pass and the machine time ends up almost 50 hours. Does anyone have a lot experience machining 304 and can tell me if this is a good approach? I am concerned about the tolling holding up for such a long time. Thanks!

Ok I get it. That does not happen on a G76 with a lathe you can use what ever spindle speed and the feed is the same. I checked and at 1000 the feed is 31.25 so we are both right.

I am going to tap some 10-32 2B Bott holes and I do not get the feed rate in mastercam. It says 43.980263 feed at 1407 rpm. I have done a lot of tapping on lathes and the feed is always 1.0 divided by the pitch, which in this case gives me 31.25. So what gives? I am using a rigid tap holder, so there is no spring or play and I really do not need a tap to break off. Should I trust mastercam feed or what has always worked for me on lathes???

I am machining a .250" thick wall that varies in height for 1.2" to 2.5" and has a 87 degree taper at the bottom. The material is 2024 T4 and I am holding from bottom with dove tails. I have tried several different approaches and every time the top ends up .010"-.030" thinner than the bottom at the highest point. I am currently using a rough pocket with a 3/4" flat end mill then a 1/2" ball end mill(because there is a 87 degree corner with a .188 radius at the bottom) 3D contour to finish it. I come back with a 3/8" ball end to finish the radius on the bottom. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.