11 Dec The BORTECH Auto Bore Welding Machine Gets You Back in Action Fast!

When repairing bores is the challenge at hand, time is of the essence. You need to get back up and running as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality, accuracy or safety. Here’s why owning a BORTECH auto bore welding machine is exactly what you need to get back in action – fast!

Save time by performing two tasks simultaneously. Welding and boring can be performed simultaneously on different bores using the CLIMAX line boring system with the BORTECH automated bore welder.

Quick change from line boring to welding. The BORTECH automated bore welder seamlessly interfaces with the CLIMAX bearing system for a five-minute changeover from boring to welding.

Weld virtually any kind of workpiece. The adjustable mounting base allows the mounting of the BORTECH auto bore welder to fit any workpiece when used independently of the CLIMAX bearing mounts.

Speed!  The BORTECH auto bore welder is up to 75% faster than hand-welding, with the ability to lay 5 lbs of metal per hour, hour after hour.

Reduce hard spots and inclusions. The BORETECH auto bore welder reduces hard spots and inclusions by 95% vs. hand-welding.

Beautiful welds, easier to machine. A consistent and uniform weld deposit provides a smooth, defect-free surface for subsequent machining. This reduces cutting tool wear and reduces machining time by up to 50% vs. hand-welding.

Keyways? Split lines? No problem! The BORTECH Auto-Skip feature is perfect for skipping keyways or split lines, eliminating the need to manually “skip” no-weld areas.

Return out-of-round bores to circular. Extended use of Auto-Skip capability allows automated correction of out-of-round bores, using Pie Mode or Carriage Return, which prevents over-boring or slugging.

Reversible rotation for added flexibility.  Reversible rotation gives the operator the ability to weld in either rotation direction, allowing unlimited weld passes to be performed with minimal welding challenges when compared to unidirectional bore welding machines.

Adjust torch diameter independently of torch angle. The BORTECH Offset Head provides torch diameter adjustment without changing the torch angle. Maintaining the correct torch angle makes for consistent and repeatable welding results.

Total control of welding parameters. The BORTECH BW3000 is the only MIG bore welder that gives you control over every welding and positioning parameter.

Improved health and safety. BORTECH auto bore welders keep operators away from harmful smoke and fumes, contributing to safety in the workplace.

Boring business arms owners with tools for success

The portability of its product is the feature that a small Stillwater company uses to market the patented machines it produces.

Strangely enough, each machine weighs 420 pounds.

Laptop computers they're not, but then the machines that Portable Line Bore Corp. manufactures are not white-collar in any way, shape or form.

Line-boring machines are cutting tools used to repair heavy equipment--backhoes, bulldozers, front-end loaders and such--which can weigh several hundred tons. The machines shave off metal to within a 1,000th-of an-inch tolerance in the holes that house the pins that hold the the movable buckets, blades and swing arms onto the bodies of heavy equipment.

"The holes get out of round, and when you replace the pins, they must be exactly in line," said Jeff Skaarup, a partner in Portable Line Bore Inc. with Liz Schoonmaker. If the holes are not exact, what starts out as a square ditch or level area could end up canted to one side or the other.

Stationary line-boring machines 30 to 35 feet long can do the repairs, but when bushings break or bearing housings wear out on heavy-duty equipment, moving that large machinery to a shop for repairs can be time-consuming and expensive.

Terry Marr, maintenance shop supervisor at the Glenbrook Nickel Co., a nickel-smelting firm in Riddle, Ore., cited a case where the company paid $17,000 for a single line-boring job, and that was for only two holes.

"It's a very large machine that picks up thousands of tons all the time," he said of the loader that needed repairs. But it had to be transported overland 80 miles to a rail shop to be worked on.

"We don't do a lot of [line-boring], but I know we'll be able to do it for quite a bit less," Marr said, and it shouldn't take the company long to recoup the $14,000 cost of the machine it purchased from Portable Line Bore Corp. this year.

Skaarup added that his company's devices, which are about 2.5 feet wide and a 1.5 feet high and powered by a half-horsepower motor, will do exactly the same thing as the much larger machines.

They can bore holes from 1.5 inches to 18 inches in diameter using an 8-foot-long cutting bar that attaches to the motor housing. And, because they are portable, the machines can be mounted on the damaged equipment horizontally or vertically.

Even though the devices weigh a total of 420 pounds, they can be disassembled easily, Skaarup said, and one person can set one up in about 30 to 45 minutes.

But not just anybody can use these machines.

"You have to be mechanically inclined," Skaarup said, although perhaps not as mechanically inclined as the product's inventor--Bob Bareis, who once operated a machine shop in Altamont.

Bareis, who developed the product in 1985 and received a U.S. patent in 1989, sold only three or four machines a year before selling the patent and manufacturing rights to Skaarup and Schoonmaker in 1996.