Cold Cast Iron Repair - Locking and Metal Stitching
Herculock has been repairing cast iron and cast metal components for more than 75 years. As part of Ward Industrial Equipment, Herculock maintains a strong focus on engineering, communication, and consistency. Our staff provides high-quality cast components and machine repair services for equipment in a broad range of industries and applications. These services extend the lifespan of aging and damaged components, significantly reducing the burden of expensive replacement parts and downtime.
Capabilities
At Herculock, we specialize in the repair of cast iron and cast metal components. We fix cracked or broken metal castings by securing the two disparate pieces of metal back together using a process called metal locking or metal stitching. Our cast component and machine repair services can benefit a variety of equipment.
A few examples of components we commonly repair include:
- Casings, large and small
- Crusher parts
- Gearboxes
- Housings
- Stamping presses, frames etc.
Equipment and Process
The Herculock metal locking process repairs cracked or broken components without the need for heat, mitigating the need to buy expensive OEM replacement parts for critical machinery. The process typically goes as follows:
- Irreparable damage is cut from the component on either side of the break.
- Holes are drilled along the length of the fracture or split on each half of the broken casting.
- These holes are worked out and connected to form slots.
- Locking mechanisms are inserted into the slots to create a connection across the break.
- Additional holes are then drilled and tapped along the crack between each locking mechanism.
- Special lacing bolts are inserted into these holes to fill the cracked space.
- Repaired areas are then worked smooth to surface or machined if required.
- Once products are repaired, we perform additional testing to verify the efficacy of the repair. Dye penetrant testing and magnetic particle inspection both play a critical role in pinpointing and remedying product quality errors.
As a cold process, metal locking offers an ideal alternative to welding in applications where heat is not recommended.
Industries Served
Herculock offers cast component and machine repair services for parts spanning all industries. Virtually any organization using cast parts can benefit from the savings provided by our equipment repair services. Some of the industries we commonly serve include:
- Manufacturing
- Metal stamping
- Mining
- Paper mills
- Ships
- Steel mills
Value-Added Services
In some cases, the Herculock team can provide additional reinforcements to components during the repair process to further improve the strength of the repaired. We also provide additional on-site machining and inspection services when needed.
Cast Component and Machine Repair
Herculock has been providing guaranteed cast component repair to Canada since 1944.Our ability to repair cast components can save your operation significant replacement costs and reduce equipment downtime.