Non-sparking tools are used in the offshore, petrochemical plants, mining, shipbuilding, and refineries, just to name a few.

These tools include various categories of tools; from handheld tools such as hammer and wrenches all the way to pneumatic cutting, grinding and surface preparation tools.

These type pneumatic tools fall under a specialized category at TFT and can be found under TFT-PNEUMATIC – Safety Tools.

They are ideal for:

• Surface preparation in pipe repair
• Beveling
• Coating maintenance
• Steel Grinding
• Composite wrap pipeline repair
• Weld seam removal
• Pipe cutting
• Drilling deck projects
• Grating removal
• Cutting stuck bolt heads

Their Certification for use in Explosive Environments and being explosion-proof quality makes them the industry standard for these applications. Here’s a demo of a surface preparation exercise by removing corrosion paint and some metal off a steel pipe.

What are Non-Sparking Tools?

The name non-sparking comes for the quality of not producing sparks when in contact with metal. So depending on the category all of these tools are made of non-ferrous materials, which means they don’t contain iron. Iron is the main reason why hot sparks are created when you grind metals.

Using a tool made of non-sparking material eliminates the risk of ignition in environments where there are flammable liquids, vapors or dust. This is why these specialty tools are ideal for use in closed spaces. These are safety tools that are needed in all industries where explosive or flammable environments are present.

Most spark-free tools are made of materials and alloys like copper-beryllium alloys, bronze, brass and even smaller tools made out of plastic, leather or wood can technically be considered non-sparking. But these are the lower range of spark-free tools available. In general, these materials (metals) are softer, so they don’t last much time in heavy-duty applications.

Hand power tools

These are things like drills, impact wrenches, and of course grinders, which are the tools that produce the most friction and thus a risk of ignition. The certified cold work grinders provided by TFT Pneumatic Safety Tools are within the category of non-sparking hand power tools and do not pose any of the risks associated with traditional tools/grinders.

In order for a grinder to fit the category of non-sparking, the grinder must be a certified cold work pneumatic grinder. Normally connected to a 90 PSI compressor, we have several grinders for different types of applications of various sizes and styles.

Rotating files and discs

Depending on the application, the array of options really opens up.

Our rotating files and grinding discs are so powerful and safe to use is their main component: a proprietary alloy based on tungsten carbide, which makes it comparably as hard as a diamond. Other trade secrets include Patented material removal patterns, among a few other things.

The design of the teeth increases the longevity of the rotating files and disc, where users of these tools say they last one hundred times longer than a regular high quality grinding file or disc.

Safe to Use in Explosive Environments

These cold work tools are compliant with ATEX Guidelines.

ATEX is the name given to the two European Directives that control explosive environments in any industry. One directive refers to the safety of the workers in hazardous environments, and the second Directive refers to the safety of the equipment used in these environments.

At the time of this writing, there is no equivalent regulation to the ATEX Certification in the US as EU regulations are far more advanced. However, the ATEX Certification is recognized globally in the industry, even if there is no official standard in the US, as there are no directives for mechanical risk ignitions, specifically by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).

Regarding the need for these tools, OSHA’s website cites:

Iron or steel hand tools may produce sparks that can be an ignition source around flammable substances. Where this hazard exists, spark-resistant tools made of non-ferrous materials should be used where flammable gases, highly volatile liquids, and other explosive substances are stored or used.

TFT Pneumatic’s cold work tools are safe to use in Class 1 Div 1&2, and ATEX Gas Zones 1 & 2, dust zones 21 & 22. This means that using these tools eliminate the need for a hot work permit, pressurized welding enclosures, fire watches, shutdowns, nitrogen purging to perform any kind of mechanical operation, saving you time and costs.

Benefits of Using Non-Sparking Tools in Explosive Environments

Sparkless tools are quite simply the only way to properly do work in any explosive environment. But having the right tools for difficult jobs reduces costs and provides a specialized worker with adequate tooling.

No Shutdown Necessary

Something really important about these tools is that they let you do maintenance work without the need for a shutdown. By eliminating the risk of an explosion, the everyday operations can go on as normal.

While the tools may be used during the TAR, they are even more useful year-round or Pre – TAR.

Additionally, there is no need to build habitats, pressurized welding enclosures or setup fire watches during operation time. These certified cold work tools are an absolute necessity and investment for continuous operation.

No Abrasive Embedding

In the case of surface preparation, as you saw on the video, we used the A-0008 Big Papa Rotating File, along with a FUJI pneumatic die grinder. What it did was remove the corrosion off the pipe and provide surface prep for a surface coating such as paint or a wrap.

The file is made out of a proprietary alloy based on Tungsten. So, the entire process does only increases the temperature of the pipe by about 5F.

Surface Preparation

Among the many benefits of using TFT-PNEUMATIC’s surface prep tool are the following:

• Ability to work in Class 1 Div 1&2 and EX Classified Areas.
• Roughness Profile 2.5 mils
• Equivalent to common blast standards referred to in SSPC-SPC 10 (SA 2 ½ near white) Nace No. 2.
• Avoid postponements, hot work permits, shutdowns, habitats PWE, and fireguards.
• Perfect for year-round maintenance jobs!
• Perfect for reducing prep work prior to TAR’s!

Best Non-Sparking Tools

The best non-sparking tool is the one that gets the job done faster and with the least expense possible. While traditional tools are surely cheaper, the expenses to use them far exceed their benefits in most cases.

For example, in an Offshore Platform, say you need to remove a welded structure to the deck. While a torch is cheaper, the cost of shutting the unit down may exceed the hundreds if not millions of thousands of dollars in a matter of hours or a few days. Surely the torch is cheaper, but when you add up the cost of a hot work Permit, shutdown, downtime, and so on. TFT-PNEUMATIC Safety Tools are incredibly cheaper. Most of our customers have the tools to pay for themselves within the very first job and can continue to use them for a number of years.

For example, for a ship hull repair job, you need to consider the equipment you will be using. A small grinder Certified Cold Work grinder can get the job done faster by only preparing the rusted surface, feathering its way in and out. Alternatively, a needle gun with a brass needle will never achieve the quality of surface TFT-PNEUMATIC Safety Tools will, and is about 200 times slower in speed. Perhaps using a sandal blaster is an option. But they are geared towards large areas and will remove perfectly good paint and create a big mess.