Improve the accuracy of your bolting activities in one easy step
Bolting applications are used across industry to assemble products ranging from pipelines to heavy-duty earth movers to cranes, bridges and many more. Their principle function is to create a clamping force across the joint which is able to sustain the operating conditions without loosening.
Correctly tightened bolts make use of their elastic properties and to work well they must behave like springs. When load is applied, the bolt stretches and attempts to return to its original length. This creates a compressive force across the joint members.
HTL’s BoltMeter uses ultrasonic wave lengths to measure the elongation, stress and load in bolts. With a user friendly interface and simple to use features, it quickly and accurately measures the required bolting information and produces a reading on the display screen. With a built-in data recording system and a data port, information can easily be extracted to excel and manipulated to suit.
BoltMeter maintains its accuracy as it measures the time the wave takes to pass through the bolt. There is no requirement for calibration or servicing of BoltMeter as it relies on the ultrasonic sound wave, produced by the magnetic point placed on top of the bolt, which is then reflected back when the wave encounters a change in density.
This gives an accurate measurement of the bolt’s length, this is the initial bolt reading. The bolt is then torqued or tensioned and BoltMeter is connected again. The difference between the initial reading and the final reading is the bolt’s elongation. The same method applies if the reading required is for stress and or load measurements.
HTL’s BoltMeter is crucial to the bolting process as monitoring bolt preload over the lifetime of a bolt highlights bolt relaxation and the loosening of bolts over time.
BoltMeter can highlight implications and inconsistencies such as if the load in the bolt is too high, low or not uniform:
- Some bolts being loose while others are overloaded.
- Crushing of the gasket on one side, leakage on the other side.
For more details for sale or hire please contact bryoni.davis@htlgroup,com