How Long Does it Take to Remove a Broken Tap?

Disintegration Time is Dependent on a Number of Factors

If you are using one of Electro Arc’s metal disintegrators, the answer to this question is must less time than if you used other methods.  Specifically, this is kind of a hard question to answer.   Depending on the type of material you are disintegrating, the size of the broken tap, the depth of the broken tap, and the operator’s experience the total time may vary.  Let’s start by talking about the disintegrating process  (these steps may vary depending on the model of metal disintegrator you are running):

Of course, to start, you need to take the machine to the work site.
1) If you have a magnetic fixture getting it set into position will take approximately 1 minute.
2) You will want to make sure you have the correct size collet and electrode installed into the head.   This takes approximately 2 minutes.
3) Connect power to your disintegrating head.  This takes approximately 1 minute.
4) Connect power to your machine (twist lock connections).  This takes approximately 2 minutes
5) Coolant is connected to the 3-way valve on the machine- 2 minutes
6) Final alignment of the head. 1 minute
7) Disintegration time (1/2” tap) 2 minutes
8) Pick out and clean up of the tapped hole. 2 minutes
9) Break down and put stuff away. 5 minutes

Total Time 18 minutes

For broken taps:
¼” x 1” deep –  60 seconds

3/8” x 1” deep – 1:45 minutes

½” x 1” deep- 2 minutes

¾” x 1” deep – 4 minutes

Of course, it depends on the operator and how fast he is. Could be faster or slower.

Broken Bolt Removal Examples:

Part #1
½ -13 Bolts in turbo housings
Machine: Model 2-DVQT
with 20 KVA power supply
Heat Setting: 6
Head Vibration: 100%
Electrode Consumption: .125”
Electrode Size: .375”
Electrode Type: Graphite (Poco EC3)
Fixture: Right angle plate
Disintegration time: 1:29 minutes
Clean-out time: 2:16 minutes
Total Time: 3:45 minutes

Part #2
½/- 13 Bolts in turbo housings
Machine: Model 2-DVQT with 20 KVA power supply
Heat Setting: 6
Head Vibration: 100%
Electrode Consumption: .125”
Electrode Size: .375”
Electrode Type: Graphite (Poco EC3)
Fixture: Right angle plate
Disintegration time: 1:33 minutes
Clean-out time: 1:42 minutes
Total Time: 3:15 minutes

Part #3
3/8”-16 Bolts in turbo housings
Machine: Model 2-DVQT with 20 KVA power supply
Heat Setting: 6
Head Vibration: 100%
Electrode Consumption: .125”
Electrode Size: .290”
Electrode Type: Graphite (Poco EC3)
Fixture: Right angle plate
Disintegration time: 1:19 minutes
Clean-out time: 1:30 minutes
Total Time: 2:49 minutes

See the Model 2-DVQT in Action:

10 More Ways you can use Electro Arc Metal Disintegrators

We’re following up on the original article 10 ways you can use Electro Arc Metal Disintegrators with 10 more ways you can use these metal disintegrating machines!  Electro Arc metal disintegrators are designed to quickly remove broken taps, drills, reamers, studs, screws, and other broken tooling from any material without damaging the threads or the workpiece.  You can also emboss identifying marks on tools, dies, steel tools, cut oil groves inside bushings.  Undercut recesses in hard machine parts, cut tool bit holes in boring bars, cut dogging squares, extend oil lines, and recenter hardened shafts. Check out additional applications illustrated below!

Your die shop can disintegrate round holes for dowel pins in die plates and cut intricate shapes for slug clearance in die shoes.  You can salvage piercing dies where the piercing hole has been damaged or enlarged through wear and resharpening.  Use the Electro Arc metal disintegrator to cut larger holes for inserting soft plugs so that locations may be picked up and soft plugs rebored for standard hardened die bushings.  Disintegrate new holes in your die-casting dies where there has been insufficient coolant circulation.  Emboss identifying letters on punch heads, minimizing the stock of heading punches you need to carry.

Your metal disintegrator will help you quickly and easily correct machining errors as shown above.

Use your Electro Arc metal disintegrator to relieve the bulk of metal in die sinking to keep displacement of metal to a minimum in hobbling the master.

Drill holes as small as .080 inches

Keyways are quickly and easily cut and enlarged in cutters, gears, bushings, etc.

With any angle access, create solutions for your engineering challenges.

Use your Electro Arc disintegrator to identify various metals in wear tests by disintegrating marks with different-shaped electrodes.  You can core out test samples this way.

Cemented tungsten carbide can be drilled and counterbored for any size Allen head cap screw.

Also, provide threaded holes in carbides by disintegrating a hole of approximate size, fill it with brazing material, and drill and tap the hole to give it stronger threads with minimal time and investment.

Pierce blind holes and shaped holes in carbide and any material that conducts electricity.

The disintegrating process has a rapid heating and cooling process which leaves the Rockwell Hardness of the metal around the hole unchanged.  Special electrodes can be purchased to pierce blind or through holes at any angle.

Electro Arc