When you have large broken bolts or seized bolts (1/2 inch or larger) you may have tried solutions like drilling, torching, and air arcing which have been commonly used to remove these large fasteners. The Bolt Eater offers you a faster and easier option.
Torching and air arcing will only take out the center of the bolt. After the center is burned out, you still have to dig out the material left behind with a hammer and punches. This process is time-consuming and the chances of destroying the threads are very high. Open flames and heat can be dangerous. Other problems with these methods can be material related, including the material composition and work-hardened materials.
See the Bolt Eater in action:
Disintegration is a safer solution to remove large broken bolts. It is fast, efficient, and safe. The Bolt Eater is the most powerful machine that Electro Arc manufactures. This machine was specifically developed for service work in heavy-duty applications. With 50 years of experience in removing large broken bolts, the Bolt Eater is a top-of-the-line machine. Used for years in applications such as Oil and Gas Refineries, Pulp and Paper facilities, Fossil / Nuclear Facilities, and offshore rigs this is your solution for tough jobs.
This model is chosen by companies because it combines power, speed, accuracy, and ease of use, with portability. The Bolt Eater was used in portable applications for bolt removal in Nuclear Generating Stations and corrective machining on Space Shuttle engine components.
Using fully rectified D.C. cutting power. provides more efficient cutting through the use of polarity as an aid in metal removal. D.C. also allows 120 cutting strokes per second. This means faster metal removal, lower power consumption, and greater accuracy through more effective arc control.
Heavy Duty Power for Heavy Duty Jobs
To get the most out of your Bolt Eater, you will want to do some planning to make sure you get the correct size electrodes for your job. Graphite electrodes are recommended for disintegrating Steel, Chrome, Molybdenum, and Vanadium Alloy Turbine bolts. With Shaped electrodes, you can disintegrate into your bolt and use a breaker bar or ratchet to back out the broken bolt. c) When bolts are too large to be taken out in a single pass you can use round electrodes in multiple passes. The bolts can be disintegrated into halves or smaller sections for removal. By collapsing them into the middle, you can remove them with no damage to the thread.
The Model 1025 was specifically designed for fast, heavy cutting and will sink a one-inch diameter graphite electrode 4 inches deep in under 20 minutes in standard metals. Cutting time to 4” deep in Chrome, Moly Vanadium Alloy turbine bolts in 38 minutes using 1” O.D., 1/8” wall Graphite tubing.
As Electro Arc machine owners, we understand that you need resources in addition to the owner’s manual you received with your metal disintegrator. As a company that has been producing metal disintegrating machines for 75 years, we know we have quite a few versions of our product in use with various stages of support needed.
Since Stillion Industries purchased Electro Arc, we have been striving to improve both the product and the support offered for these machines. Both of these processes are time-consuming and costly, so it has taken us a while to get to the point where we can produce new media to replace set-up and operation videos that are currently available. We have been offering new content through our YouTube channel to address common questions and demonstrate how our machines work.
We recently released a 30-page troubleshooting guide which addresses the most common issues machine owners may have with their metal disintegrator or disintegrating head. This guide is free of charge and is available for download in our store here on ElectroArc.com You may have noticed that a majority of the content from our troubleshooting section has moved. This is because we have created a new resource to assist existing machine owners.
We have also dedicated a new website to hosting all of the current setup and operation videos that we have for our metal disintegrators (yes, they are from the 90s) but they do cover the important points new machine owners may need to cover for training purposes. This website Metal-disintegrators.com is dedicated to providing a resource for machine owners through multi-media. We will continue to expand and improve the content available on this site.
The Arc-er head is ideal for portable use. You can use it with portable or tabletop metal disintegrators. You can also use the Arc-er head with machine tools like CNC machines, Bridgeport, Radial drill, lathe or mill, and directly on the workpiece. This head operates at any angle. You can remove broken tooling from .079 to 3/4 inches in a single pass.
The Arc-er head is standard with the following machines:
2-S 2-SB 2-SE 2-SET 2-SA 3-S
In September of 1998, the Arc-er head was introduced as an upgrade for the previous LBH head. Although similar in design and use, the Arc-er head features an LED current monitoring system to assist you in maintaining optimal use of your Arc-er head and saves on electrode consumption.
You can also purchase the ultra-compact mini-mag 800 lb fixture or the portable magnetic base fixture which attaches to ferrous surfaces and provides 3000 lb holding power for use with your arc-er head. You can expect reliable heavy-duty service with your Arc-er Head which is designed to remove taps, drills, and studs up to 1″ diameter.
The IQ precision disintegrator head is a high-performance head engineered for heavy-duty use. You can use this head horizontally or vertically. Thermal protection prevents any potential damage from overheating. You can use the IQ head to remove taps, bolts, drills, and fasteners up to 1″ in a single pass.
The IQ head is a standard feature for the following metal disintegrators:
The IQ head body enables smooth movement with 9″ of manual or automatic travel. This head is ideal for small taps from 0-80 or extremely large taps such as 2-inch taps or larger bolts such as 1 1/4-inch bolts and up. If you need to disintegrate carbide, look at the Servo head below:
Electro Arc’s Servo Disintegrator Head
Servo Head test burn
A high-performance disintegrating head, engineered for heavy-duty precision use. You can use this with electrodes from .020 inches to 1-inch diameter. You can use this machine to take out broken tooling including taps, bolts, drills, fasteners, etc. from 2# diameter in a single pass. Larger diameters are handled with multiple passes.
We offer the full-size servo disintegrating head and a mini servo disintegrating head. The servo head is specially designed for heavy-duty use and comes standard with our most powerful machine, the Bolt Eater. This head disintegrates broken bolts 2 inches or larger. The mini servo DC disintegrator head is ideal for portable disintegration giving you ease of use at all angles and in small spaces.
Not sure what disintegrating head is best for your application? Try out our Machine Builder!
D.C. cutting is direct current cutting, which is a naturally occurring process that moves metal from a positive pole (+) to a negative pole (-) when current flow is initiated (switched on) and subsequently interrupted (switched off). You may not know that this process is as old as the storage battery. It was also responsible for the problems of the early automobile ignition points and plugs – excessive wear on the positive terminals caused by the rapid switching of a D.C. circuit.
D.C. cutting is the basis for all convention and wire EDM machine technology (not to mention Electro Arc Metal disintegrators) and predates the electric light bulb.
DC Portable Metal Disintegrators Heavy-duty power for onsite or occasional use
How Does DC Cutting Work?
D.C. cutting or EDM cutting occurs when an ionized path is established (switched on) between a positive and negative pole and then broken (switched off) to stop the current flow. The simplest example is what occurs when the (+) and (-) poles of a car battery are momentarily (with jumper cables) touched together (switched on) and then pulled apart (switched off). When the cable clamps are examined you discover a crater on the positive clamp and an equal amount of material added to the (-) clamp – EDM in action!
Harness this D.C process to remove broken taps, drills, and bolts quickly and easily. Minimum heat is generated and low power is consumed because polarity is the major moving physical property. High amperage, can waste power as a violent arc is created generating excessive heat and causing extreme electrode wear.
How do Electrodes Work in the Metal Disintegration Process?
Did you know that any conductive material can be used as an electrode? The more conductive the electrode material, the more effectively an electrical process works, and this is an electrical process.
Electro Arc machines can be used with inexpensive copper tubing. Copper has superior conductivity (next to silver), low cost, and is easy to work with. It has the added benefit of being very conductive both electrically and thermally to aid in removing residual heat from the cutting area. We use other materials as electrodes for cutting operations where higher temperature arcs are required to remove high-temperature materials such as high-temperature bolts that are alloyed with molybdenum and other elements.
You need D.C. cutting because you are constantly searching for a better, faster, cheaper way to get your job done. D.C. cutting gives it to you because it moves metal faster through polarity while minimizing heat and power consumption through lower amperage requirements that always accompany the use of polarity as the major moving physical property.
How does D.C. cutting compare to A.C. cutting?
A.C cutting is the creation of a violent arc between a high melting temperature (molybdenum/melts at 4748 degrees Farinheight and 2620 degrees Celcius) electrode material and a lower melting point material (tool/steel/melts at 2500 degrees Farinheight and 1371 degrees Celsius) and the fact that the lower melting point material (steel) will melt faster than the high-temperature material (molybdenum). You will want to use DC current with carbide because it cuts faster than AC, you may also need a DC machine if you are planning to use your metal disintegrator on larger bolts.
Electro Arc’s AC metal disintegrators were the first metal disintegrators available on the market, released to the general public for purchase in 1947. While competitors came and went over the years, Electro Arc remained the best metal disintegrator manufacturer purchasing competing brands including Elox, AC machines are generally cheaper than DC machines and provide a larger variety of options for customization.
Electro Arc introduced the Carbide Impregnator in June of 1964. This bench-type carbide impregnator hardens wear surfaces of tools. You can use this process to extend tool life and reduce downtime and maintenance. Cratering, galling and chip abrasion are substantially reduced. You will find this plug-in-hand tool easy to use. A carbide tip is passed over the wear surfaces or land of the tool. The vibrating tip fuses tungsten carbide by electrical spark discharge into the metal surface. The carbide deposit adds hardness and wear resistance to the surface metal without altering toughness and other mechanical characteristics.
Examples from case studies show increased life of tools:
The carbide impregnator deposits tungsten carbide to a depth of .0005 to.001 in the metal and builds up to .0003 tolerance regardless of the length of operation. You can pass the impregnating tip over the surface many times until you are satisfied with the desired deposit. The impregnation process uses a special grade of carbide suitable for impregnation.
Electro Arc’s Carbide impregnator operates on a 120 volt, 60 cycle current. The cabinet is made with16 gauge reinforced steel with steel side handles for easier handling. A convenient expanded metal basket is used to store the plug-in hand tool and cord. The tool’s net weight is 35 pounds.
You are probably wondering what kind of applications the carbide impregnator has. We published an engineering bulletin in the 60s with a case study “Applying the Principles of Carbide Impregnation to Circular Saws” about Havey Aluminum Company’s application of the Carbide Impregnator. A prime extruder of titanium and aluminum in the United States, Harvy aluminum had a sizable investment in 36″ diameter circular saws for cutting billets. Numerous studies and reports for cutting manufacturing costs and determining shop procedures revealed that no saws of any kind would stay “on the lin” for more than 12 hours, and it was best to stop to change at six and three-quarter hours because of a variety of negative factors which thereafter started to develop.
Harvey Aluminum gave Electro Arc a 16″ circular saw with 80 teeth to carbide impregnate, the theoretically critical crescent of about 1/64 of a square inch on each side of the teeth. The carbide impregnation of the 16″ saw took about two hours. Harvey Aluminum then put the saw into operation and inspected it at the end of 80 hours of continuous operation. They found there was an increase of over 600 percent over any other saw used before.
On the strength of these results, Harvey Aluminum immediately purchased an Electro Arc Carbide Impregnator so that they could continue to receive this extraordinary increase in all of their saw operation. In addition to this, after receiving the machine they began to experiment in other areas of their plant operations. The Extrusion Department impregnated four sets of dies and reported an increase of over 1000 percent. Further use proved that the slitting saw operation was further improved by impregnating the entire tooth rather than just the crescent.
This application at Harvey Aluminum is an excellent sample of what users of the Electro Arc Carbide Impregnator experience when they have the chance to couple the impregnator with their own knowledge against wear-life problems.
Electro Arc’s 3-S portable metal disintegrator is featured below. You do not need dielectric fluid to use Electro Arc machines, just coolant. The 3-S is easy on your pockets and convenient for you to use. Our metal disintegrators remove broken taps and drills without damage or coming into contact with the part. You can also use an Arc-er Head with other machine tools like the drill press in the video below:
What is a metal disintegrator?
You have probably heard a metal disintegrator referred to by many names including; tap extractor MDM machine, tap burner, tap zapper, and spark eroder. You can use these metal disintegration machines to remove broken bolts, broken taps, and broken drills without damaging your part. Cheap alternatives are available but can cause more damage or break easily. With an Electro Arc metal disintegrator, you get the precision, speed, and value without the headache of replacing parts on expensive equipment.
Broken tap removal service
You may experience broken taps in any situation, even when drilling and tapping a riffle, the risk of a broken tap is present. It may be tempting to use a simple cheap product like ex-out or Tap Magic, but as many of you know, this often makes the problem worse.
When you are working with broken taps it is important to remember that the center part is solid. Meaning the broken tap can be broken and essentially removed. Taps with a thread size smaller than M12 should be removed by breaking the center. In some cases, your tap will have a very large thread. If this is the case we advise that you divide it into halves for removal. You do not have to apply the electrode to the largest depth. When it reaches the desired depth just turn up the Arc-er head and begin to remove the debris. You can then continue the process of disintegration with your electrode. The power of a metal disintegrator is established by creating a series of electric arcs or discharges that erode the broken metals into smaller particles.
This produces sparks that move between the broken piece and the electrode cutting through the broken machine part. A puddle is created by the spark (also known as the hot plasma) as a result of the workpiece being melted by the electrical discharge produced by the electrode. The small amount of dielectric is vaporized which creates bubbles around the spark.
Sparks illustrated
It is important to keep your work area clean. A slower removal rate increases the rate of tear which is related to the rate of removal. The head is located in the flush area which helps to speed up the time for metal removal. The result of the removal also affects the size of the spark. Big and long sparks lead to a bigger depth and a rougher surface. For a finer finish, smaller sparks, a higher wear rate, and low removal rate are required. There are copper alloys that have been designed to maximize the process of spark eroding and offer better wear resistance and improved machinability.
Are you wondering what the best way to remove broken drill bits from metals is? Electro Arc has been providing high-quality broken tap, drill, stud, and bolt removal EDM / MDM machines since 1947. Our technology safely removes the broken drill in seconds without causing any damage to your part. Our spark erosion and metal disintegration technology can save you thousands of dollars by not causing damage to expensive parts. Please, take a moment to review how our spark eroders work.
Electro Arc’s unique process disintegrates only the center out of a broken tap or drill leaving its threads intact. You can use this process to cut square or round shapes to back out studs or bolts or to remove large studs with a series of cuts. Emboss identification on rolls of steel, bore, and counterbore holes. You can reclaim expensive parts and provide immediate repairs on all types of equipment. Thus you will experience fewer production overruns and late deliveries.
The following is a transcription of the above video. Please reach out to us here with any questions or concerns.
Hi and welcome to Electro ARC. Today we’re going to be demonstrating our DC direct current output disintegrating transformer which is optimally suited for removing broken carbide tooling. We have a broken 12 mm carbide drill selector. We’ve determined that we need to use a 312,000 electrode to remove the broken carbide drill. The electrode is inserted into the disintegrator head. The machine is equipped with a disintegrator DC head and automatic servo feed, stop and start switches and depth stop. To begin the process i bring my electrode down on the broken tool, drop my splash bag, cover the edges with a rag, and using the start stop switches I begin the process. It tells us that we need 18 up through 9 by 32 in. Our machines can meet the needs of any part size shape or configuration. We’ve gone through and removed some of the loose bits of carbide drill left in the hole and there’s still a little bit of the drill down in the hole that’s not loose yet. So we’re going to take the disintegrator back down and we are still going to go with 1 in increments. As you can see, the head backed out and that’s indicating that we have another loose piece of drill bit, so I can go in there and should be able to rummage around and find it, lets get our head out of the way and then with our compressed air we can clean out the hole and I can see bits of material down in there for us to pick out with some pics and pliers. What we’ve done here is using our pics and and needle nose pliers is bring the chunks of the drill out of the hole and got to the solid drill and using a twisting action removed it from the hole leaving a clean hole undamaged for future use.
In the above video, Electro Arc’s 2-DVC DC metal disintegrating machine demonstrates the removal of broken carbide tooling. Equipped with our servo head with auto-feed allows for easy remote start and stop. Disintegrate up to 1 1/4 inch diameter in one pass. See more broken bolt removal examples.
Electro Arc manufactures a full line of metal disintegrators both large and small, portables, table tops, AC and DC power supplies, and custom configurations to fit every application. Our AC power supply is ideally suited for hardened materials such as high-speed tooling. The DC power supply is superior at removing carbide tooling. We have multiple power supplies for removing taps as small as 0-80, and up to bolts/studs over 4” diameter in one pass. Our disintegrators are 10 times faster than other disintegrator manufacturers and are easy to operate.
You will find any of our small portable tap removers are far superior to the competitor. Our machines are built to last!
Supplies and Accessories The right consumables and add-ons
We can remove any type of metallic tooling, such as carbide or hardened steels, or any conductive metal part. Each of our metal disintegrators can use large-diameter electrodes. Our molybdenum (moly) electrodes have a higher melting point, which means you use less of an electrode in the process.
Our disintegrators come with everything you need to operate the machine including a coolant tank, pump, and motor plus free starter set of electrodes and collets. We offer portable magnetic base fixtures that use powerful permanent magnets for secure holding power.
All machines (including tabletop models) are built with cabinet-mounted wheels, handles, and/or usually lift eye rings for easy portability. To optimize portability, Electro Arc has put our disintegrators on heavy-duty trolleys. Everything you need goes with you in one convenient, easy-to-move cart, this includes a power supply, coolant tank, magnetic fixture, remote control, and lockable toolbox for storing electrodes and accessories for everything the operator will need on the job.
We offer multiple disintegrating heads available from small portable to larger heavy-duty heads with auto feed, servo feed, and manual feed options. Our disintegrating heads have been designed to handle the smallest and largest electrode. Our “in the quill head” or IQ delivers the precision and performance needed for small tap extraction to large turbine bolt removal. The Electro Arc head assembly is servo motor driven, hard-chrome finished quill and precision ground rack-and-pinion system. The Quill rides on the precision-honed bronze bushing, keeping .002” TOR tolerance. This provides smooth, positive, and accurate head feed. This is an exceptionally robust and accurate system that will provide a lifetime of trouble-free service. All our disintegrating heads can operate in any direction, including inverted or horizontal. All of our disintegrators come with a complete coolant system including a pump and motor and there is no need for a separate bath. Our disintegrators do not use an EDM dielectric fluid.
No need to submerse a part in dielectric fluid. Coolant is pumped through the head, and electrode directly to the point of disintegration, preventing heat distortion of your part, and also flushes disintegrated particles, which maximizes efficiency. We are the preeminent manufacturer of metal disintegrators. We have been building and designing easy-to-use, operator-friendly machines longer than any manufacturer in the world. All our machines are simple to operate, including easy to read current monitor/ammeter and no other gauges that need to be monitored.
Our disintegrators do not require an experienced operator. A competitor’s machine has warning indicators, pressure gauges, and several adjustments for the operator during and after the disintegrating process that are unnecessary and make operation more complex. Electro Arc has taken all these unnecessary problems and engineered the disintegrator to be worry-free. All our machines are high quality manufactured with warranties.
We have the ability to custom engineer machines for special purposes. Machines can be built to operate on nearly any input voltage. Machines can be CE or CSA-certified. Readily available parts and service to keep your machine operating for many years. Experienced staff provides the best-recommended solution and service for your individual needs.
All new machines include a minimum 1-year warranty. We do not use pneumatically (air) driven disintegrating heads, nor a mechanical swivel joint. Air is compressible and because air is compressible, it does not provide the kind of direct, mechanically positive characteristics of an electro-mechanical system. Therefore, the pneumatic system is prone to variations in either air pressure or coolant pressure. These variations in pressure cause the head movement to be erratic and choppy with less precision. Pneumatic systems are also prone to corrosion and other problems due to ingress of foreign particles and moisture. Electro Arc’s electro-mechanical system has none of these problems or exposures. We have an optional remote control with a start/stop or a remote that has all the machine controls. The operator should not have to fiddle around with adjustments to efficiently run the disintegrator.
We also have fixtures including a 3,000-pound permanent magnetic base which secures our rigid column and cross-arm. These hard chromed steel slides offer years of trouble-free service and there are no mechanical adjustments to make. One of our competitors uses an adjustable coolant pump with an alarm that alerts the operator if coolant pressure becomes dangerously high. The alarm gives the operator a chance to make pump adjustments before system failure. Electro Arc uses a factory-set pressure regulator, thereby eliminating the possibility of operator error with respect to the coolant pressure. Electro Arc (EA) machines do have an indicator light alerting the operator to any potential low coolant level.
A competitor’s machine has 8 axes of movement. Electro Arc’s machines has 7 axes of movement. Electro Arc’s machine positioning capability within the machine’s working envelope is identical to that of our competitor. Therefore, 8 machine movements are superfluous – adding the additional movement to machine complexity offers no functional reason, with more that can go wrong. We very much appreciate your consideration, and again, we believe that a thoughtful comparison of the disintegrators demonstrates that Electro Arc provides more value.
