Rotabroach.

About Rotabroach

Rotabroach is a British manufacturer of annular cutters and magnetic drilling machines, based in Sheffield. The company concentrates on the particular tool category that structural steel fabricators, steel erectors and maintenance engineers reach for when they need clean, accurate holes in steel sections, plate and box section, namely the magnetic drill (mag drill) and annular cutter combination.

An annular cutter, or hole cutter, cuts only the ring of material at the perimeter of the hole and ejects a solid slug from the centre, rather than grinding the entire hole volume to swarf as a conventional twist drill does. That approach uses far less cutting force, produces much less heat, cuts faster and leaves a cleaner hole with a flat bottom than a twist-drilled equivalent. For holes above 20 mm in structural steel, the annular cutter is the right tool, since a twist drill of equivalent diameter in steel needs a drill press of much greater mass and torque and is slower in practice.

Rotabroach magnetic drilling machines use a powerful electromagnet to attach the drill to the steel surface being worked, so the machine can be used in any orientation, whether horizontal, vertical or overhead, without a separate clamping arrangement. It is this portability that makes mag drills practical for structural steel work on site and in fabrication shops where a bench drill press would be impractical.

Products We Can Supply from Rotabroach

TCT annular cutters — Rotabroach TCT (tungsten carbide tipped) annular cutters in the ELEMENT and GOLD series for cutting through mild steel, structural steel and stainless steel plate. They are available in diameters from 12 mm to 100 mm, in standard 35 mm depth of cut and long series (55 mm) for through-cutting thick steel sections. The TCT cutting edge removes full-depth slugs cleanly without pre-drilling, and cutting paste should be used to get the most from each cutter.

HSS annular cutters — Rotabroach HSS annular cutters for lighter steel cutting where TCT is not required, plus Rotabroach HSS long series cutters for deep-hole work in structural sections. HSS cutters suit mild steel at lower cutting speeds and can be resharpened when worn rather than replaced, which keeps tooling costs down for workshops with cutter sharpening capability.

Magnetic drilling machines — the Rotabroach EVOLUTION, TYPHOON and TORNADO magnetic drilling machines in 110V and 230V for site and workshop use, rated for annular cutters up to 50 mm, 75 mm and 100 mm diameter respectively. Magnet holding force runs from 750 kg to 1,800 kg depending on model, with an arbor for 3/4\” Weldon-shank annular cutters. There is also the compact Rotabroach MIDGET mag drill for restricted access applications.

Cutting paste and accessories — Rotabroach CUTTING PASTE for lubricating and cooling annular cutters during steel cutting, arbors and adaptors for different cutter shank configurations, ejector pins and springs for slug ejection, and Rotabroach drill chuck adaptors for converting magnetic drills to accept conventional twist drills.

Industries

Rotabroach annular cutters and magnetic drilling machines are used in structural steel fabrication, steel erection and ironmongery, shipbuilding and offshore fabrication, rail and transport infrastructure, general engineering and maintenance, pipe and vessel fabrication, and any job that calls for fast, clean holes in steel sections, plate and box section, whether on site or in the workshop.