Eroding Snapped Head Studs

Recently we were engaged to remove 3x snapped head studs on a FIAT bulldozer engine.

Failure to cleanly remove the 3x snapped studs would have left the engine as scrap.

The studs were snapped at the bottom of the coolant jacket, 270mm deep.

Despite bad weather, the trailer mounted 3~ 6kVA eromobil spark eroder was deployed.

Our experienced spark erosion team set up a bracket that was mounted on the side of the cylinder block, fitted a cross table to allow for accurate X/Y positioning.  Our specially modified magnetic stand allowed feed in the Z axis.

To view the job, a borescope had to be utilized. Using a wet vacuum the coolant was evacuated from the coolant jacket and filtered prior to re-circulation.

A custom made 10mm electrode eroded the core of the M18 stud to a depth of 60mm, relieving tension in the stud.  The remaining spike was then eroded using 6mm electrode which provided the necessary clearance to use an “EasyOut” style extractor to remove the hollow remains of the thread.

With our state-of-the-art equipment and skilled technicians all 3x studs were eroded

Download this case study as a pdf here.

Contact me today to learn more about how spark erosion can help you when things go wrong.