Powder-actuated tool

A Hilti powder-actuated tool

A powder-actuated tool (often generically called a "Hilti gun" or a "Ramset gun" after their manufacturing companies) is a type of nail gun used in construction and manufacturing to join materials to hard substrates such as steel and concrete. Known as direct fastening, this technology relies on a controlled explosion created by small chemical propellant charge, similar to the process that discharges a firearm.

Powder-actuated tools come in either high velocity or low velocity types. In high velocity tools the propellant charge acts directly on the fastener. This process is similar to a firearm. Low velocity tools introduce a piston into the chamber. The propellant acts on the piston, which then drives the fastener into the substrate. (The piston is analogous to the bolt of a captive bolt pistol.) A powder-actuated tool is considered to be low velocity if the average test velocity of the fastener does not exceed 492 feet per second (150 m/s). High velocity tools may not be made or sold in the United States, however some made decades ago are still in use in shipbuilding and steel industries.

Powder-actuated fasteners are made of special heat treated steel. Common nails should never be used for powder-actuated fastenings. There are many specialized fasteners designed for specific applications in the construction and manufacturing industries.

Powder-actuated technology was developed for commercial use during the Second World War, when high velocity fastening systems were used to temporarily repair damage to ships. In the case of hull breach, these tools fastened steel plates over damaged areas.^[1] These tools were developed by Mine Safety Appliances, for the United States Navy.^[2] Powder-actuated tools were investigated and used prior to this development; they were used as part of submarine hunting during the First World War and were the subject of a 1921 United States patent (US Patent No. 1365869).^[3]

Use

A Ramset powder actuated fastener and the box that it is kept in. A small box of charges can be seen, (with C22 on the top) that are .22 caliber safety cartridges, or ammunition, colloquially referred to as "charges" or "boosters" that are loaded singly each time this particular gun is used. The colored straws in the tray contain cartridges that are loaded singly with the manual action of the breech. The cartridges are color-coded for the various strengths. The strength of the charge determines the power of the particular charge. In the tray are also 75 mm hardened steel nails. The heads are 8 mm and the points of the fasteners have plastic spacers (also 8 mm) to hold the fastener central in the bore, at the point.

Fasteners take various forms, for example with threaded ends to use as an embedded bolt, with washers at the tips that grip softer material etc. For photos and descriptions of various fasteners see the PATMI Basic Training Manual. http://www.patmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/PATMI-Manual-2014.pdf Common nails should never be used for powder-actuated fastenings. Fasteners used in powder-actuated tools are manufactured from special steel and heat-treated to produce a very hard yet ductile fastener. Those properties are necessary for the fastener to penetrate concrete or steel without breaking.

Operation

Nail gun cartridges

Powder-actuated tool cartridges are specially-designed blank firearm cartridges. In many cases, the charges are ordinary firearm cartridges with modified casings, and the bullet removed. The .22 Short, developed by Smith & Wesson is common. These charges may be hand-fed, or manufactured and distributed on a plastic strip. The charges are activated when a firing pin strikes the primer, which is an explosive charge in the base of cartridge. The primer ignites the charge, which burns rapidly. The gases released by the burning of the propellant build pressure within the cartridge, which acts either on the head of the nail, or on the piston, accelerating the nail towards the muzzle.

Powder actuated tools can be variously classified:

Direct acting (the charge acts directly on the head of the nail or high velocity), or indirect (using an intermediate piston or low velocity)
Single-shot, or magazine-fed
Automatic or manual piston cycling
Automatic or manual feed of the charges

Color coding:

Color-coding for the "rounds" or "single shots" (the three shot strengths or colors typically sold to the general public are brown, green and yellow in brass):

In brass casing:

In brass casing:
Color coding	Velocity
Grey	315 ft/s (96 m/s)
Brown	385 ft/s (117 m/s)
Green	490 ft/s (150 m/s)
Yellow	575 ft/s (175 m/s)
Red	675 ft/s (206 m/s)
Purple	755 ft/s (230 m/s)

In nickel (silver) casings:

In nickel (silver) casings:
Color coding	Velocity
Grey	845 ft/s (258 m/s)
Brown	935 ft/s (285 m/s)
Green	1,025 ft/s (312 m/s)
Yellow	1,115 ft/s (340 m/s)
Red	1,205 ft/s (367 m/s)
Purple	1,295 ft/s (395 m/s)

Not all powder-actuated tools are rated for high capacity charges — the strongest charge (nickel - purple @ 1,295 ft/s (395 m/s)), for example, is dangerous in a tool not rated for its use. Above is for a 350 grain slug from a test device.

Safety

As with their air-actuated cousins, powder-actuated guns have a muzzle safety interlock. If the muzzle is not pressed against a surface with sufficient force, the firing pin is blocked and cannot reach the load to fire it. This ensures that the gun does not discharge in an unsafe manner, causing the nail to become a projectile. Nonetheless, good judgment should always be used when using a powder-actuated nail gun, since the nail is driven with far more force than an air-actuated gun. The surface being nailed should, therefore, certainly be capable of stopping and holding the nail.

Most manufacturers of powder-actuated nail guns offer training and certification. Many projects and employers require this before an employee is permitted to use the tool.

The ownership and use of these tools is regulated in Australia. The owner has to register the tool, and an operator of one of these tools is required to have a license and to have undergone training in their use. These laws are in keeping with Australia's extremely strict firearm laws.

In the US, failure to properly dispose of charges is a common OSHA safety violation. Training is required before someone can use the tool on a jobsite.

In popular culture

In the TV series The Wire, a real Hilti brand powder-actuated tool is pitched to the character Snoop in episode 1, season 4. The tool also features in subsequent episodes.
In the novel trilogy The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, modified nail guns are used by the main characters to hunt vampires. The guns are created by Professor Abraham Setrakian, who explains that he has taken ordinary, battery-operated guns and augmented them with small charges of gunpowder, in order to give them the necessary stopping power.
The nail gun cartridges were sometimes utilized by gun enthusiasts as an ammunition for a home-made blank gun, as well as modifying an air rifle with the cartridges used as a propellant for the pellets.

References

↑ "Engineering maintenance". Hospital Management. Clissold Publishing Co. 90: 52. 1960.
↑ "Powder-actuated driver". The Signalman's journal. Brotherhood of railroad signalmen of America. 29–30. 1948.
↑ "Powder-actuated fasteners". Engineering journal. American Institute of Steel Construction. 40–41: 99. 2003.

External links

Ramset Powder Actuated Tool Licensing Course & Exam
Powder Actuated Tools Operator Certification Simpson Training & Exam

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.