This is the claim that UFS uses to witness to the continuous and constant willingness to strive for the best for the customer.
UFS is an Italian company specialized in the design and construction of threading tools, standard and special taps. Over time, it has reached a very high level of product quality, especially thanks to the intense work carried out in the Research and Development plant, where it has developed more and more specific tools for threading in particular fields of application. Experimentation for technological innovation has not only had the task of analyzing and solving internal production problems, but has also addressed emerging scientific problems, with national and international research plans, in synergy with some universities and polytechnics. The result of this continuous evolution, aimed at identifying the best product for each specific use, must take economic considerations into account. Ways and times of use of a threading tool are fundamental components, in addition to quality and technical characteristics, to identify the most suitable product. UFS has therefore included three product lines in the range of its proposals, with increasing functional performance and durability, which offer customers the possibility of achieving better savings in their production.
Different materials
The tempering of the tools is fully assisted and certified. The surface treatments, starting from vaporization to coating with Chrome Nitride, Titanium Nitride, Titanium Carbonitride, Titanium Nitride and Aluminum, are calibrated and customized in relation to the performance required from the product. The UFS technical department, located in Site 1, is asked daily to identify the best suitable reference to best meet the customer’s specific needs. Some examples.
In High Resistance, designed to process materials up to 52 HRC, they are produced in super-fast sintered PM steel with high percentages of vanadium and cobalt and available with surface treatments that have a high resistance to wear and oxidation.
For stainless steel, ideal for steels with difficult machinability and long chip. The basic steels are either HSSV3, 3% vanadium, or PM sintered steel with high vanadium and cobalt content. Cutting geometries and TXC treatment prevent the formation of the cutting edge.
For aluminum light alloys, long chip copper alloys and soft magnetic iron (Fe) and aluminum alloys with silicon. They are available with an alternating AZ thread which avoids the formation of the hank of chips with a reduced number of cuts and large drain compartments.
For cast iron made of super-fast PM steel with a low cutting angle, combined with accentuated bare back make this type of taps suitable for working abrasive materials. They have an increased tolerance of type 6HX and a TiAlN coating, combined with micro surface finishing processes. Additionally, with short mouth for tapping with reduced discharge chamber or 25° helical for applications on steel cast irons (steel castings).
For Titanium, PM powder steel products with special cutting geometries. Propeller 15° left for through-holes, propeller 15° right for blind holes. They are also available in 4HX tolerance and with TiCN treatment for machining the heaviest alloys.
For Nickel, with the reinforced body structure. Ten degrees left propeller for through holes and 10° right propeller with chipbreaker for application on blind holes, also in 4HX tolerance, and 25° helical tapered taps.
With Synchronized Rigid Tapping, in quality powder sintered steels, they are ground with h6 shank tolerance to ensure maximum precision at high cutting speeds. They can also be used in the case of thermal clamping spindles.
Made of Integral Hard Metal with straight cuts for processing very abrasive materials. Available with central hole for lubricant passage and TiCN surface coating.
Sintered steel PM Roller Taps. The coatings are combined with special surface preparation processes to minimize friction between tool and material to be processed. Available with and without raceways, also in 6HX and 6GX tolerances and with internal lubricant central hole type FOR or with radial outlets type FORY.
Tools designed according to applications
But in addition to the materials to be processed, there are specific fields of application that require additional attention. In the automotive industry, for the oil filter attachment plate for cars, vans and trucks, the chip removal design has been largely replaced by the deformation design with higher productivity and product quality. For engines with aluminum cylinder heads and cylinders, the high efficiency taps are combined with special coatings. In this area, the male thread rulers are also playing an increasingly important role. In drive shafts there may be a need for horizontal threading; a heavy-duty operation that requires taps with a longer total length. For the gearbox and crankcase, tap dimensions are special, with an increased total length with special spoils and coatings. The role of threading in connecting rods is fundamental for the precision and fatigue resistance of the part. For steering, suspensions, and wheel hubs, the design is carried out with the latest cad-cam systems and results analysis, both with internal tests and at the users’ premises, are fundamental elements for the achievement of the objective of maximum performance and constancy of the tool. The development of specific applications for the wind energy sector is constantly increasing. Significant features of the taps used are the total length of the workpiece that is longer than the standard, the possibility of having the central coolant passage and the high-torsion propellers with a discharge length that is longer than the standard. Additionally, in the bicycle components and the threading of right and left pedals and the dropout, UFS has developed specific taps, also with different steels according to the material to be processed, which allow an excellent quality/price ratio. A high level of experience in tractor components with a production of special taps dedicated to specific jobs such as, for example, the threading of the tie rod which is the “third point”. Furthermore, taps for threading nuts which can be made in different tolerance modes are possibly also available with the screw connection for connection with curved shank by bushing. There are many special male threads designed and built according to the most varied customer requirements.
