Esmaly works has, through the years, built up expertise in removing broken bolts from ship engines, big machinery and other equipment. Often it is difficult to remove a broken bolt that is stuck, because drilling is usually not an option considering the hardness of the material. Usually the opposite is achieved: the bolt gets stuck even more. The biggest downside of this is offcourse the usual time pressure involved.
Eroding the broken bolts, studbolts, broken taps or broken drills
We don't use conventional drilling techniques. We use specially engineered tools to melt the core of the bolt in a squared shape. The bolt also shrinks during this process, making removal very easy and safe.
Our technique can be used on small and big bolts with a size of 4mm to 120mm wide Hardness is not a problem, our equipment is capable of handling materials with a hardness of up to 12.9. In general, the procedure looks like this:
- A copper electrode is placed onto the head of the bolt. The electrode has a smaller diameter than the bolt.
- A hole is being eroded into the bolt. The electrode does'nt touch the core, but does remove enough material. The screw-thread remains intact.
- De head can be placed into a drilling machine or turn table. If this is not possible due to the size of the equipment, we will use our magnetic base which we always take with us on site.