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.

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“We market it. He never did,” said Schoonmaker. The company has shipped half a dozen machines since December, and has orders for three more.

“The biggest problem was getting production set up,” added Skaarup, who directs the firm’s sales and marketing efforts.

Bareis had the aluminum castings for the machine parts made in China and shipped to him for assembly, but Skaarup and Schoonmaker decided to bring that operation back to the United States in order to maintain tighter quality control. But they first had to translate the mechanical drawings from Chinese and metric measurements to English and inches, using some of the original drawings they acquired from Bareis and a computer-aided design program to verify the dimensions.

Now, the castings are made by M.G. Carter & Sons in Coxsackie, and the parts are machined by Raloid Tool Co. in Mechanicville. The machines then are assembled by Portable Line Bore’s two employees.

“As we grow, we’ll be doing more of the machining ourselves,” Skaarup said, adding that the company now could make 50 machines a month with no problem, as long as it keeps the pipeline full and the castings coming.

“It’s a real fast turnover,” he said. “It’s not a lengthy process.”

And Skaarup and Schoonmaker think there’s a market for that many machines each month.

“Every time you turn around there’s another application,” Skaarup said, “We’re always open to feedback from people using it in the field, and we’re willing to modify it.”

He added that the firm has received inquiries from companies considering using the portable line boring welding machines on aircraft landing gear, marine engines and drilling equipment.

Marr, of Glenbrook Nickel, said he sees 100 to 200 applications for the portable line-boring machine on the smaller pieces of equipment the company uses in its nickel-smelting operation.

Most of Portable Line Bore’s marketing efforts are through word-of-mouth, trade shows and advertisements in trade magazines. Eventually, Skaarup and Schoonmaker hope to establish dealerships across the country, with a goal of at least two in each state. The dealerships could sell and rent the machines as well as provide service in the field.

The pair also plan to open a manufacturing plant in Florida to serve the Southeast–which has a year-round construction season and potentially greater demand for the company’s product–once the company is established firmly in the Northeast.

And they’re not relying solely on a single product.

They offer optional accessories for the machines, including a bedplate and loader arm support assembly so the machine can be converted into machine shop equipment but easily converted back again into a portable machine for use in the field.

The company also produces a hydraulic line-boring machine that drills holes 8 inches to 40 inches in diameter. That machine, which costs $29,000, is not portable and is used for specialty applications, Skaarup said.

Customers also can lease the machines on a weekly or monthly basis, and the company can design parts to meet specific needs.

Portable Line Bore also is in the process of developing two new products, including a smaller, lightweight machine, dubbed the PLB Jr., that will bore holes from 1.5 inches to 4 inches in diameter using a variable speed motor on a device similar to a hand drill.

The second machine, called the PLB Sr., is identical to the company’s primary product, but is powered by a full horsepower motor, providing more inch-pounds of torque.

And with Schoonmaker owning 60 percent of the company and holding the title of chief executive officer, the firm one day hopes to take advantage of its woman-owned status to land contracts with the state Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Defense.