Machine Taps

As machine tapping is a much faster operation than turning a tap by hand, chip evacuation became more difficult to control. Machine taps would become defined as those with flutes designed with geometry to direct the flow of chips out of the hole. Spiral-point and Spiral-fluted taps fit this category. These alterations in flute geometry improved tap efficiency. Today, with the increasing use of coolant-holes in taps, and external directional coolant-flow, a straight-flute hand tap can offer a similar assist with chip evacuation, and yet it is still perceived by some as different than the machine tap.