how it works By Scott Livingston

Precision
Thread Rolling

T hread Rolling
Squeezing metal into jewel-like threads
A t Horst Engineering & Manufacturing Co., one-
year old multi-axis Citizen Swiss turning centers
and Eurotech multi-axis lathes pump out complete high
precision machined components. They turn, they drill,
they mill, and they even thread. Yet, in the same small
East Hartford, Connecticut factory, Horst Engineering’s
Photos by Alan Grant

sister company, Thread Rolling Inc., uses fifty-year old

Waterbury, Hartford, and Reed roll threaders to form
external threads with a specialized, yet elegantly simple,
secondary process. Not all of their machines are an-
tiques. Much of the equipment has been refurbished,
and newer machines are mixed in with old. So it is
fitting that they make their home in the most historic
section of the old factory, where a fifty-five year old wood
block floor symbolizes the sixty-year old family business. Above: Thread Rolling Inc. uses a variety of machine types
and sizes to roll threads.

August 2006 57
Knurling Problems?
With the most
knowledgeable Thread rolling is a process that has been around
engineers and for more than one hundred years and there are ma-
sales staff, chines in service that make the fifty-year old ones
Accu Trak has look young by comparison. Thread rollers come in
the answers to
any technical a variety of types and sizes, but they all use a mech-
question anism where hardened steel dies are matched and
regarding the set to penetrate with force in order to reshape the
knurling process. material surface of a round diameter into a thread
We have available for immediate delivery a huge variety form. A cylindrical work piece or blank is fed into
of knurling wheels and holders in both “INCH” and the machine (manually or automatically) and the
“METRIC” sizes as well as custom knurls made to your
exact requirements with the fastest delivery in the dies rotate (cylindrical dies) or reciprocate (flat dies)
industry. in order to produce threads in a “chipless” forming
process. Every thread form, shape, and size has a
For more info on how to ensure your unique set of dies which are typically ground from
next knurling job runs smoothly heat treated tool steel (typically Rockwell C 58-62)
and procured, rather than made in-house.
visit us online at Thread rolling is primarily a cold forming pro-
www.accu-trak.com cess done at room temperature, but a niche does
or call exist for hot rolling when materials are greater than
(800) 433-4933.

WANTED
MELBOURNE REBUILT
B&S SCREW MACHINES

Above: A horizontal
two die process is
Melbourne Rebuilt machines will have this tag suitable for both in-
on it with the date and code number. feed and thru-feed
rolling.
If you have a Melbourne rebuilt machine for sale,
please call Wendell Rogers. Right: A vertical
three die process
is often used when
tight concentricity is
Automatic Screw Machine important.
Tool & Supply Co.
6775 Brandt Rd. • Romulus • MI 48174
800-832-6726
Today’s Machining World
 common threads rolled

how it works here are Class 2A and

Class 3A in UNF, UNC,
UNJF, and UNJC forms.
“J” form threads have
Rockwell C 45, because die life would be seriously a larger controlled root
compromised. Like centerless grinding, its sister radius for added strength
process, the thread rolling process can be in-feed in the high stress area of
or thru-feed. Thread rolling is the method of choice a thread and are common
for high-volume production threading applications. to the aerospace industry.
Planetary die roll threaders are capable of form- Dimensional inspection
ing threads on tens of thousands of parts per hour. of high quality threads is
High speed vertical or inclined flat die reciprocating different from the com-
machines can also generate high production rates, mercial variety. Specifica-
and horizontal cylindrical two die machines can tions vary, but aerospace
quickly produce thousands of feet of threaded rod. and military standards
A lot of the stuff you get at the local hardware require that indicating Above: Flat die thread rolling is
store, like wood screws, lag bolts, and machine type thread gauging be adaptable for both low and high
volume requirements.
screws, were mass produced with the help of used to inspect the pitch
thread rolling machines. Acme, buttress, worm, diameter and associated dimensions.
square, and pipe threads are just a handful of Inspection of pitch diameters are performed with
unique forms which can be produced by thread both full form and single element indicating type
rolling; however, machine screw type threads are gauges that are set with thread masters. Thread go/no
the most familiar to people in the precision ma- go ring gages are used for reference only. Standard
chining industry. outside diameter micrometers are used for inspecting
On one end of the spectrum, high-volume auto- major diameters, and optical comparators are used to
mated thread rolling is interesting because of the check minor diameters and root radii. With all of these

T hread Rolling
speed and dimensional stability of the process, but gauges available on the shop floor, a thread rolling op-
the production of commercial grade fasteners and erator can monitor the process and make adjustments
parts is a relatively ordinary practice. On the other quickly. Die wear and other variables can affect the
end of the spectrum, there is the very specialized rolling process, but once a machine is set, the process
niche of high precision thread rolling, primarily is consistent and repeatable.
on small batches of parts. Some high technology Formed threads are preferred for high strength and
industries, including aerospace and motorsports, critical applications like those found in the aerospace in-
require extremely tight tolerance threads with dustry. Threads that are rolled, especially on heat treated
super surface finishes, and the extra strength parts, have higher tension, shear, and fatigue strength.
inherent in parts made with the forming process. No material is removed during the rolling process, elimi-
Thread Rolling Inc. uses a combination of vertical nating one of the inherent weaknesses of cut or ground
cylindrical three-die machines, horizontal flat die threads. The cold formed properties include a higher
reciprocating machines, and horizontal cylindrical density of material grains, or molecules, especially where
two-die machines to produce precision threads. they have been compacted along the lower flank of each
The focus is on producing the high precision thread pitch and in the root of the thread.
variety of machine screw style threads, concentrating Aerospace metals can be difficult to machine and
on the standard 60º unified and metric thread forms form, so the common threading attachments used on
most common to the aerospace industry. The most screw machines and lathes for higher volume work

August 2006 59
 struggle to meet the quality requirements of precision
threads. The force required to form threads on heat
treated alloy steel or on exotic alloy parts made from
how it works
Inconel® or Titanium cannot be achieved effectively
without using dedicated equipment. Thread Rolling
new set up, and periodically during the course
Inc. focuses on threads that are less than 1.500 inches
of a production run.
in diameter, but rolled threads are produced on fasten-
The testing process requires that the threads
ers up to 5.00 inches and even larger. It takes serious
are cut from the rest of the part, bisected longitu-
force, up to thirty or forty tons of rolling pressure
dinally, mounted in an epoxy resin, ground and
generated by very large machines, in order to move that
lapped to a three micron finish, etched to reveal the
much material. Some threads are
microstructure, and microscopi-
deemed so critical that a destruc-
cally inspected. The whole process
tive testing sampling process is re-
takes a little more than an hour,
quired to microscopically examine
but requires specialized metal-
each pitch of a thread at 500X.
lographic preparation and inspec-
Properly formed threads require
tion equipment. Because produc-
that the dies are exactly lined up,
tion pauses for testing, a range
or “matched.” Whether the process
of machines are required, so the
uses two or three dies, they must
machinists work on several jobs at
track properly in order to avoid
the same time, alternating between
internal defects, such as overlaps,
grinding, threading, and testing
cracks, folds, seams, and craters.
processes.
The destructive thread inspection
Many times, parts are received
method is used to identify inter-
for service in bulk packaging, but
nal defects and to verify that the
when they are returned with shiny
proper material grainflow has been
precision threads, they are individ-
achieved. Representative samples Above: Aerospace industry specifications
ually packaged with protectors to
T hread Rolling

require that indicating type gauges be used to

are tested at the beginning of each
measure threads. prevent damage during shipment.
On one recent day, a clerk was packing up a single
blue container that was lined with padded foam.
The foam insert was die-cut for a single prototype
shaft. This eighteen inch part was thread rolled on
both ends. The part had been designed and engi-
neered to accommodate rolled threads. That meant
that the pre-roll thread diameters were properly
chamfered and ground to the correct pitch diam-
eter, a hypothetical diameter in between the major
and minor diameters, which is used to determine
thread size. This particular job did not require de-
structive testing, but set-up pieces were produced
from similar material in order to get the machines
set. With a one-piece lot size, there is no room for
Above: Metallographic thread specimens must be bi-sected, cleaned, error, and the highly skilled machinists knew this.
hot mounted, ground, polished, and etched prior to inspection.
The highest quality rolled threads are produced

60 Today’s Machining World

 from the best quality blanks. For that reason, most of
the parts sent to Thread Rolling Inc. are left oversized
so that the final sizing process can be controlled by
centerless grinding. Once the correct size has been
ground, typically by a threading associate and a grind-
ing associate working together, the parts are ground to
their final size within .0004 inch while holding round-
ness within .000050. Before thread rolling, the surface
finish on the diameter is always better than 32 micro- boyAr-schultz smt/lde
inches. Thanks to the burnishing action of the dies, the
finish after rolling, especially on the flanks, can be as Two Great Names Are Now Together!
good as 4 microinches, depending on the material and
Boyar-Schultz SMT
hardness. Finish is another reason for choosing rolling
Division of Lester Detterbeck Enterprises, Ltd.
over other threading processes. Contact us direct or through your local distributor.
The lack of CNC controls on most equipment means
that the process is not as user-friendly as screw ma-
chining, turning, or milling. It is difficult to explain to
customers that the major diameter actually increases in 3390 US 2 East • Iron River, MI 49935
size when rolled. Some do not want to believe that they 1-800-533-3328 • Fax 1-906-265-6195
can turn their blanks below the major diameter and www.boyar-schultzsmt.com
that their parts will not be scrap. For example a .250-28 www.lesterdetterbeck.com
UNF-3A thread has a pitch diameter of .2268-.2243 and
a major diameter of .2500-.2435. The blank size prior to
roll threading will be near the maximum pitch diam-
eter and the material displaced by the dies will form up
to fall within the major diameter tolerance.
The folks at Thread Rolling Inc. frequently hear that
customers have shied away from jobs requiring thread
rolling because the process seems difficult, mysteri-
ous, or out of their control. The process is unique, but
within the precision forming industry, there are many
specialists at the craft. The process just cannot be done
as easily as one might expect in today’s environment
where “do it all” multi-axis machines automatically per-
form their work. A lot of “feel” is necessary to be a suc-
cessful thread rolling operator. High precision thread
rolling is a hands-on niche process that is here to stay.

References:
“Thread and Form Rolling”, Clifford T. Appleton, Tool Engineers Handbook,
2nd edition, 1959, p. 46-62 to 46-77
“Threading”, Machinery’s Handbook 25th Edition, 1996, p. 1630-1854
Scott Livingston is a prior contributor to this magazine. He is President and
CEO of Horst Engineering & Manufacturing Co. and Thread Rolling Inc.,
East Hartford, Connecticut.

August 2006