FlexArm Tapping Arm!

[@makewhatyoulike119]

Excellent. I would recommend Flexarm's products and service. I have owned a pneumatic model for almost 15 years and it's one of the best machine purchases I've ever made. I have no idea how many thousands of holes this thing has tapped. Never had a problem with it.

[@jamescrombie2320]

Love those tapping arms. I bought one for a shop I worked in back in 1986 :-) a mid sized model that would tap up to 5/8". We did a lot of pipe tapping, deburring with countersinks and of course regular tapping. I built a 4 x 8 ft rolling table that we faced on a large boring mill and drilled a pattern of 1/2" holes on a 6x6" grid and then tapped with the arm. We could bolt down various fixtures or vises to hold the parts, or just lay the heavier parts right on the table. A real time saver.

[@thomasyuhas]

John - the very first time we used the FlexArm we tapped 36 blind holes in 12 minutes! I had been doing these 36 holes by hand and it would take 2 hours and 12 minutes to tap!! The other key to doing it successfully is the proper tap. The spiral tap by Vega is the way to go for the blind holes. Thanks to Carl at Lakeshore Carbide for that recommendation. The first tap we broke by hand tapping took 10 hours to remove. Since we have had the Flex Arm and the Vega spiral taps we have not broken one. I agree that the guys at FlexArm could not be nicer- a young enthusiastic group. It has been a great investment.

[@WideVisionMetalFab]

I got to use a Flexarm at a trade show a couple years ago and I was impressed! The guy running the booth finally said to me "How about giving somebody else a chance to use it" :)

[@DCT_Aaron_Engineering]

Far out, that huge tap at the end was freaking awesome John. Made me feel a little giddy lol. Nice work, I've never seen one of these tapping arms before. Cheers Aaron

[@gushavelock5881]

I used to work at a place before starting my own machine shop (Ocel Metal Fabrication) and they had one. it made tapping plate so fast and quick and we could tap hundreds of holes without breaking a tap!

[@KeithDDowning]

Thanks John, I spent about 4 hours using one of our FlexArms today tapping 100 or so holes into cast aluminum (kinda gummy) I had milled on our Haas VM-3. Broke a 1/4-20 tap, and need to mill it out in the morning. Probably should have rigid tapped the holes on the Haas, but this was easier (1/4-20 and 6-32 taps). We love our Flex Arms. We have one that is stationary and one that is on a portable stand. Nice video.

[@socialgarbage2]

We've had their big model for a few years now, love it! Just got this model yesterday for tapping smaller parts.

[@goptools]

Hi John, Hand tapping is such a labor intensive operation. I can see how that FlexArm can pay for itself. Especially in a job shop like yours where time is money. Great to see it in action. I really liked where they tapped that 2" hole! Thanks for the video. -mike

[@outsidescrewball]

Great tool the FLEX ARM, got to play with one at the machine tool show I went to yesterday....we dropped your name to the rep saying we saw the tool on your video!

[@KerryHarrison-Woodturning]

That’s a nice gizmo that surely comes in handy in lots of shops especially for large hole tapping. Regarding tapping with a Tormach, over the last 3 years we have tapped literally tens of thousands of holes from 4-40 to 3/8-16 with our 1100. High quality taps, such as the Tormach taps, are a must and will rarely break. Taps are always held in the tension compression tapping head and lubed with the Tormach coolant from a Fog Buster. For thru holes in steel we use spiral point taps and in blind holes a form tap. In AL for thru and blind holes it’s always a form tap. So tapping in that size range with a Tormach works great and should not be a concern for anyone.

[@m0r7u71715]

Thanks for the video, I'd often wondered a little about the flex arm. I agree it is something a home enthusiast could likely mock up, but having it special built with the clutch and quick change chucks is awesome. Looking forward to new content from the new shop. Good luck to you!

[@ScoutCrafter]

John- awesome demo of a awesome tool! Great shop footage too! Thanks much!!!

[@krisnewman3202]

I’ve got an older, open frame type pneumatic Flexarm with a full complement of series 1 clutch tap holders in my home shop. With patience I’ve been able to pick up tap holders over the years at bargain prices from EBay. I use it regularly, admittedly it’s a luxury and a bit of an overkill for a home shop, but I’m sure glad I have it.

[@BeachBow]

Always helps to have the right tool at the right time.

[@BigMikesHobbyChannel]

The summer in between my years at school for tool and die I worked at a machine building shop and did many small(ish) parts which had multiple tapping operations. I was surprised to learn how much they relied on bridgeports to rigid tap. Throw it in low range and feed in with your handle. Power off towards the bottom (it will continue to rotate) and throw it in reverse as it stopped. Did it hundreds of times a week without ever snapping a tap. Good tapping fluid is key obv. P.S. - not sure if you can counterweight it, but that arm is just about perfect as a camera jib too :P

[@Hirudin]

+Big Mike's Hobby Channel Yeah, using it as a jib is something that came to mind for me too. You beat me to it.

[@FlexMachineTools]

We have actually created custom mounts for customers that allowed us to mount cameras for them!

[@brandonfedorick8106]

Rigid tapping on the Haas at our shop works for me but I'd love to have one of these for the coolness factor alone...

[@XJA50NXGaming]

Great demonstration, and such an impressive piece of kit!

[@brainfarth]

Nice looking machine. I've tapped 1000's of holes with a system like that. The big difference that I see is that you have a quick disconnect. Ours had different sized collets to hold the taps. You'll wonder how you lived without out it for so long when a big job rolls through.

[@sattarsattar4206]

woah, flexArms a beast for those 2" taps

[@JetNmyFuture]

This may be a good option to get around the tapping limitations on Tormach CNC's. I have only done rigid tapping on full featured CNC's which is of course super easy. Now that I am hoping to put a machine in my garage, Tormach looks good with the exception of the tapping support for small blind holes that need to be tapped all the way to the bottom.

[@TheWidgetWorks]

That's a really slick tool to free up cycle time on your mill. I've never used one but a shop I worked in had one in the one cell and they used it for drill, chamfering and tapping of holes that came out of a live tool lathe that didn't have enough tool positions to finish the part. They just spotted and pilot drilled the holes ( I believe there was 2 sizes) and then finished them off line while the next one ran. I don't believe that rigid tapping is hard on the spindle of that CNC machine. My current VMC drilled and tapped steel brackets all day for 8 years and the spindle was perfect when I bought it. All you are doing is running the spindle like a servo (which as you know can last for many years on the end of a ball screw) so that you can synchronise the spindle and the z axis, same as single point threading. What is really hard on a spindle is when you break a large tap off due to misalignment or bottoming it out, that makes a bang that you can hear a mile away! This can most definitely chowder up spindle bearings/couplers/belts ;)

[@comictrio]

+NYC CNC I had two 3 inch x 11tpi taps break using a horizontal boring machine for a rock crusher part at a shop I worked at 30 years ago. The three taps were supplied by the owner of the crusher and they didn't look in the best of shape. It was a rush job. The owner of the shop didn't like the condition of the taps either and he wasn't able to get new taps in time. The rock pit was shut down and waiting for their finished part. Lots of pressure to get the job done! The sound of those two taps breaking is indelibly etched in my memory. I compare the sound to an artillery cannon firing. The holes being tapped were through holes in a 3.5 inch thick coupler ring. Thankfully the third tap got the job done. My nerves were shot after the job was finished, and if memory serves, I may have soiled my boxer shorts when the taps exploded :)

[@arifbustani]

excellent videos. I wish you could have the same videos also published as a short version of the same so when I share with my other professional contacts they will have the patience to go through the whole video. keep up the good work Sir.

[@GENcELL2014]

This tools going to be a life saver for me! Good companion for a cnc router.

[@richardkicklighter1202]

You hit a soft spot!! I have drooled for one of those ever since I used one in another shop several years ago. I'm not too keen on the deburr function... Reason: you can pick up a really decent floor drill press at a farm auction for $50. ...or a table top drill press. Just drag it into location, no big deal. That way you keep the flex arm doing its job tapping as you mass produce parts. Suggestion, use high quality two flute machine taps, the mileage is worth the price.

[@richardkicklighter1202]

Literally volumes of excellent information regarding taps, and, specific tapping procedures have been written. It is the second most common automated operation behind hole drilling.The material tapped, and, the type of tapping operation will play a major role in the decision of tap selection. Generally you want the strongest tap for the task at hand. 2-flute are extremely strong (vs 4-flute), and made for rigid tapping in automated applications such as the Flex Arm. They are readily available in all styles (through hole, blind, bottom & modified bottom) from all major tool manufacturers Every broken tap can be traced back to the problem of improper selection. Not to mention the frustration of having to deal with broken tap removal, and,or damaged to the part part being manufactured. A professional machinist is always learning how to make better parts more efficiently. "If you ain't never broke a tap, you ain't no machinist!"

[@avmcnc]

I have used a flexarm arm in my shop for years tapping giant aluminum plates. They do work well but the air models are really loud and slow. I'm looking and buying another one and looking and one that is faster and possibly electric....and they do suck alot of air. Great product.

[@stepbar1546]

Awesome video! The next time you're in the area we'll head over to the Space Museum! Thanks again for stopping by and keeping my face limited on here haha!

[@EitriBrokkr]

sweet stuff. as far as power tapping goes, we run up to 4" NPT on transfer machines all day long. I've never heard of it affecting the spindles. but if it does, the down time to rebuild a spindle is peanuts compared to pumping finished parts out every 15ish seconds

[@EitriBrokkr]

+NYC CNC big stuff made on transfer machines for the oil industry. in the transfer machining world, milliseconds count, when you have cycles times of a matter of seconds, instead of minutes or hours, most places would rather pound their machines into the ground, then repair or replace them, its actually more profitable for them to replace a $3 million dollar machine every 20 years than to run it slower and take care of it.

[@Hirudin]

Do you think it would be strong enough to hold a DSLR and a decent size lens? If so, maybe it could also serve the purpose of being an ultimate shop "tripod". It looks like it would make those useful straight-down shots very easy.

[@theplotz]

wonder if you could use it for installing/removing fixture plate bolts easily, keeps everything perpendicular and torques to a specific level.

[@BigBodySmallBrain]

my school's SAE shop could use one of these ( although i might just think that because we don't let newbies use the taps under 3/8-16 so i end up having to do all of the smaller ones)

[@titter3648]

That looks like a thing that is pretty easy to DIY for a hobbyist that don't have the money for one. Just some square tubes for the arms, some plates that you drill some holes in for the joints and a butterfly air impact wrench as the driver.

[@Hirudin]

+Wankel Motor You also need the head to articulate to keep the axis of the impact wrench vertical. So the arms would have to be a little more complex than a single square tube, but quite possible to do none-the-less.

[@titter3648]

That is easy. As long as you have two tubes of equal length running parallel to each other the end of the bracket will always stay the same angle.

[@Hirudin]

Indeed.

[@hiquality_distraction4084]

I look forward to seeing the new shop!

[@andrewyork3869]

Curious how hard this would be to DIY? Would be nice to be able to drill, and operate at a angle. Maybe less so on the last one, but still....

[@newsogn5148]

At first I thought this was kind of dumb but its kinda cool, what about other drilling operations, what if it could replace the old style drill press that would be pretty cool

[@frankfiederlein4233]

John think about getting another one so that you can tap and helicoil in one station priceless when doing aluminum or plastic production work

[@Chuckq1]

I've power tapped as small as 4-40, hardenge lathe and standard webb mill. most of lathe is blind hole.

[@GregsGarage]

The arm looks like a great tool.

[@gregorywest2029]

John, Need a table for your new shop? Look into Tab and Slot welding tables, I think they would go great with your flex arm. Just my opinon. Keep them comming. Greg

[@robbie574]

Amazing! I thought the Tap-matic was cool, until I used the Procunier. Then the CNC and the thread mill, but this takes the cake! Wonder what's next?

[@Altcapball]

+robbie574 im already imagining a baxter like robot flex arm that learns and repeats tasks based on computer vision. Come on 2025.

[@stephenbarga7594]

Here she is fellas, the next generation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6Kve2aEbNRma68

[@kevinp860]

i run a hurco vmc , circa 1997 . still going strong with the rigid tapping....

[@comictrio]

That's an awesome tool. Sure could have used it for a huge job making 23 inch aluminum equipment racks with hundreds of drilled and tapped holes. Technology is a wonderful thing.

[@zarouszz]

What a great video and serendipity story. The ratchet mechanism is a brilliant addition. Can't wait to see new video at your new location. If you have vid of the Flexarm tour, please share. Seventeen minutes?! Is this a new non-hasty format? You mentioned 0-80. Does it calibrate the ratchet torque for smaller sizes? Zero is pretty dang small.

[@zarouszz]

Noooo! Vids are too short! Can't wait to see zero eighty with that arm. Buy plenty of taps, if you look at them wrong or think impure thoughts they snap spitefully.

[@MakinSumthinFromNuthin]

Pardon the French....but BadAss Machine! Congrats on owning one! 👍🏼

[@eformance]

IIRC, the FlexArm was created by Don at Practical Machinist, then he sold it. He also created the original dovetail jig for woodworkers.

[@Keith_Ward]

+eformance Yes, I remember that now. Don is, or can be, a bit of an ass and why many folks don't care for that site. Ask a question the wrong way or say something he doesn't like ... you're banned. Nope, it didn't happen to me but saw it happen frequently.

[@eformance]

+Keith Ward his rules are finite and simple, don't talk about Chinese machine tools.

[@Keith_Ward]

+eformance Seems fair, and it is his site but hardly "practical" as the name indicates. Just need to craft questions and answers carefully.

[@stepbar1546]

Don owned and built a tapping arm, FlexArm purchased the company in the late 90's. He had the original design for the A-32 (Unit in this video) but it has slightly evolved over the years.

[@eformance]

Stephen Barga Yep, and if you lookup "procyon tapping arm" on Google images, you'll see flyers for the models he made, which are the basis for the current arms FlexArm sells. So, if a company buys another company, rebrands it, doesn't that still mean the original company invented it?

[@barrycass2820]

You could do five holes before you could do one hole by hand. That pretty cool. I see a DIY project coming up for us basement dwellers. Thanks for your time.

[@richardrush1309]

Is this better than a radial drill

[@cameronmcintosh7136]

Anyone know where I can find the collets with a jacobs chuck on? I would like to start using my arm for reaming

[@kmcwhq]

They are pretty cool, save a ton of time. They do use a lot of air, which is -the- most expensive utility. It would be really cool if they could build one that uses an electric variable speed (foot pedal) gear motor instead of an sir motor. They Hydraulic one is amazing as well.

[@FlexMachineTools]

We do have an electric model now! The GH-18. Call for details 1-800-837-2503

[@marceltk643]

No synchronised spindle on the Tormach?

[@Stephen1455]

What material? Wasn't aware of that? The quick disconnect reduces pressure?! What does your shop make?

[@RS2Racer91]

I heard you mention a VMC. I wondered what the difference is between the tormach and a VMC? Isn't it close to the same? I also wanted to say that I like your channel a lot! I am an electronics engineering student with a side job at a CNC retrofitting company. I also like to build things with my 3D printer, so I also like your solidworks video's! I think I have seen al your video's from the day I found your channel! Keep up the good work, good luck with your new shop! PS. I would like to see some more electronics/arduino/rPI videos! (I am mostly using ARM controllers instead of arduino, but I really like your projects!) PS². English isn't my native language Greetings from the Netherlands!

[@Hirudin]

+RS2Racer91 I think you're basically right. A Tormach is _basically_ a VMC, even though the term "VMC" is usually reserved for larger machines. The biggest distinguishing feature between a Tormach and what I would say is a "real" VMC is the fact that Tormach machines are designed to sit on a stand or a bench whereas a typical VMC will sit on the floor. Beyond this, the line seems to be indistinct.

[@RS2Racer91]

+Hirudin Thanks for your answer, I did some more research and found out that the VMCs are basically more robust (heavier, faster, stronger, etc.) than the Tormach. So the Tormach is a "light" CNC. Is this correct?

[@Hirudin]

Yeah, Tormach mills, like the PCNC 1100, are considered to be "light" CNC mills. They're ~513 kg. though, so "light" is definitely a relative term. The Haas Minimill is also "light", at 1542 kg., but I think most people would still call it a VMC, albeit a small one. Really, when you get right down to it, I really think the fact that the Minimill sits on the floor and the PCNC 1100 sits on a stand may be the biggest determining factor when deciding whether each one is a VMC or not. The other thing that comes to mind is the enclosure. The "C" of VMC stands for "center". An enclosed machine just seems more like a "center" than an open machine. To me, calling an unenclosed mill, even a very large one, a "VMC" just wouldn't *_feel_* right. That's my opinion anyway. I'm an amateur though, so I might be ill-informed.

[@Stephen1455]

At work we use a lot of difficult materials, Inconel, Vascomax, etc, we have to thread as small as 0-80, but the smallest/ most common is 3-48. We break taps quite often and have a worthless tap buster to get them out. I keep asking my boss, (who is the CNC guy), to look into thread milling, but no luck, any suggestions? You are on my favourites list for machining info!

[@4DModding]

It looks like a great tool.

[@RayLautenschlager]

You got me when you said they were close by. When you were in Wapakoneta did you stop at the Neil Armstrong Museum?

[@AndTheCorrectAnswerIs]

Grimsmo should have room in his new shop for one of those.

[@summerswoodworking]

So awesome! Cant wait to see the new shop operational!

[@larscw74]

Cool video. It would be nice if you add a url, in the description, when you do a product review like this.

[@larscw74]

it still happens a lot when you look up a product online you end up being lead to a way cheaper Chinese product. So product links can prevent that from happening.

[@atomkinder67]

Thread mill? Use bottoming form taps in rigid tapping. Done and done.

[@atomkinder67]

+NYC CNC Thread milling is great if you need to adjust your sizing (like pipe taps) or the machine can't rigid tap, but generally I love form taps. hole size is pretty important though, so we use carbide drills.

[@Thewaldo12345]

Did you get a good look at those Haas machines?

[@VLAHECO]

Cool,,,,I need one of this for the R & D Lab.

[@Hirudin]

I didn't learn about those until shortly after I bought my Procunier. I really wish I had spent... ~$1200 on a tapping arm (I think that's the price range I saw) instead of the ~$1000 on my Procunier! Now that I have a new mill (which rigid taps) my Procunier is useless, this thing would continue to be useful though. And, even before the new machine, the Procunier is pretty cumbersome... great tool, but I'd avoid using it because of the hassle of setting it up.

[@cuttheknot4781]

Definitely a tool that very few actually need but will nevertheless purchase. This is a tool designed for women on a production line.

[@GnosisMan50]

i wish i had this guy's passion.....

[@SolidsteelworksSSW]

are you able to adjust the clutch tension or spindle speed? I was really excited by a sneak peak in one of your earlier videos. But I am apprehensive as my tapping is all 2-56 and smaller, and usually in titanium. Have you done any testing in the more micro tapping sizes? The tormach compression head we had was so terrible at those sizes- we sent it back. Tormach, as always, was amazing and had no problem taking it back even months later when they found out it didnt work for us.

[@sleddarcheddar]

what rpm does it run at? I run my small taps at a pretty good rpm. Treat them like a drill. Smaller = faster

[@sleddarcheddar]

+akromix Another thing to note is there are quick disconnect fittings that have very large ID's. The plus of them is if you have some in a bin not fitted they usually don't get legs and walk away as most people don't use them.

[@GANADERONUEVAZELANDA]

nice tool guy congrats cherrs from north MEXICO

[@petrasteiner5147]

Hey John, with model of FlexArm is yours? I like the amazing capability and impressive small size! Thanks for the great video!

[@Haaalo079]

@nyc cnc ever thought of using a dmg mori cnc ?

[@Haaalo079]

+NYC CNC but ? to expensive?

[@l.e.f.4016]

Things that you only need if you don't have a decent CNC milling machine. In the 60's that would have been a really good thing

[@bbailey0625]

Hey John, how long you been machining? Are you self taught?

[@Rodrigo_Ribeiro1]

hey NYC CNC , i was wondering if you could do a review on how a ETA tapping arm works becuase im a student in portugal and i haven´t found how the the arm stabilizes and goes up if you could help that would be great thank you :) your videos are very intresting eductional and very awesome keep it up :) cheers from portugal

[@Rodrigo_Ribeiro1]

Thank you very much, thats very useful information :) thank you

[@AlMg1SiCu]

+NYC CNC +Rodrigo Ribeiro IIRC it's a 4-bar linkage along with some springs

[@mrcm-sue6170]

great products!

[@jesseriojas7456]

How would it do on 3/8 thick ss

[@stephenbarga7594]

No problems at all. Give me a shout [e-mail]

[@shainterry]

Which model do you have?

[@shainterry]

+NYC CNC Cool! Thank you.

[@shainterry]

+NYC CNC Cool! Thank you.

[@shainterry]

Going to order one next week. So handy.

[@aeromorte]

Cool stuff

[@mertonsilliker4858]

Excellent

[@cvdo85]

at work in Germany?

[@gorillam2]

Why are you using a precision gmt vise on your gross steel table, they make vises for that purpose lol. It's like using a ferrari as your work bench.

[@robertkutz]

cool.

[@piercemooney8978]

not to be rude but did you have to blabber for 8 minutes before starting

[@bigchad007]

F U MAN!!! That is the shit!!! WOW.. Question.. Does that head come with it? Or is that something you bought separate? AWESOME video!!!

[@markrichardson239]

It needs a tapmatic on it.

[@franciscotoscano9924]

I need a drill too

[@DStrayCat69]

Great stuff :-)

[@untiground]

prices of Flexarm are just inadequate.

[@thebrokenbone]

so this is not a sales pitch...

[@rollbot]

Sell this any harder man!?? Lol

[@gregorywest2029]

You can get them at weldtables.com all sizes and good stuff to go with them and looks like it is a good do-it-youseld build. Keep up the videos. Greg

[@richardwesterfield4578]

I bet you could make one for about $300.00

[@stephenbarga7594]

I'll take that bet! lol

[@backtoearth1983]

Abom brought me here

[@MaxRay16]

I could say first but I don't want to.