Taking off the heat in steel forging with Superbolt®
Operators working in steel mills must deal with high heat, heavy lifts, and other tough conditions. Add to the picture the need for achieving high preloads in the furnaces’ bolted connections, and you get one of the most demanding work environments for operators in the manufacturing industries.
A tightening solution fit for modern production
Traditionally, steel manufacturers have found it challenging to find safe, easy-to-handle tools that can withstand extreme temperatures while meeting the applications' high preload requirements. But together with the Superbolt team, one manufacturer in Canton, Ohia, USA, was able to.
Using their vast technical knowledge and engineering expertise, the client manufactures some of the cleanest alloy steels in the world and delivers high-performance products for any application. This more environmentally sound steelmaking uses Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF). On each of the EAF’s mast arm assemblies, multiple bolted connections ensure the safety and continuous well-functioning of the furnaces.
To tighten the hex nuts on the arm assemblies, the customer initially used an older, 90-pound hydraulic tensioner. However, that involved strenuous lifting of heavy equipment, which was not an optimal method to fasten the joints from a safety standpoint.
Simplicity withstanding the extreme
With Superbolt, the manufacturer found exactly what they were looking for – a switch to nut-style mechanical tensioners that enabled operators to fasten the critical joints more safely.
But there was more to the new Superbolt tools than making life easier for operators. A crucial feature to have the tools functioning properly in the high-temperature steel mill was a custom part made of non-magnetic ASTM A453 Gade 660 stainless steel. This material is excellent for high-strength and high-temperature applications.
The Superbolt engineers used a heat-treated alloy to increase the performance of the jackbolts and washers. The employees at the steel manufacturer now enjoy a safer, easier steelmaking process from tools that ensure preload while withstanding extreme temperatures.
A decades-long partner in the steel forging industry
Superbolt has a long tradition of supporting the steel forging industries in taking on the toughest bolting challenges. The masterfully simple design of Superbolt, along with our customization capabilities, including heat-resistant materials, makes our mechanical tensioning solutions ideal for the steel forging industry, allowing the manufacturer to increase the safety of their operations and increase productivity.