What about fasteners installed in composites or metal structures?

Modern aircraft often feature a mix of materials—aluminum skins, titanium frames, and advanced composite laminates bonded together with thousands of fasteners. Removing these fasteners safely is critical. Traditional drilling carries a high risk of hole damage or composite fiber pull-out, leading to costly rework and repair.

E-Drill solves this challenge with Electro-Discharge Machining (EDM) technology, which removes only the fastener material while leaving the surrounding structure intact.

Challenges with Traditional Drilling in Composite or Mixed-Material Structures

Conventional drills mechanically cut the fastener head, which can lead to:

  • Drill bit wandering or walking, scraping or enlarging the hole.
  • Composite delamination, fiber pull-out, or bond weakening.
  • Burrs or uneven holes when cutting through stacked metal and composite layers.
  • Costly rework, oversized fasteners, or replacement of expensive structural parts.

These risks grow when thousands of fasteners must be removed during a major maintenance or teardown program.

How E-Drill Protects the Parent Material

E-Drill’s EDM process is programmed to stop cutting at a specific depth, just below the radius at the fastener head-to-shank transition, leaving clearance from the underlying structure. This depth setting is controlled electronically and repeats accurately for every fastener.

Electrodes are also intentionally undersized compared to the fastener shank, meaning the EDM erosion is contained entirely within the fastener material. This significantly reduces the chance of unintentionally touching the parent structure.

Combined, these controls ensure that E-Drill removes the fastener cleanly and consistently—without harming adjacent composite layers or metal skins.

Benefits for Composite and Mixed-Material Applications

E-Drill performs reliably on:

  • Fasteners installed through carbon fiber composite panels.
  • Stacks combining aluminum, titanium, and composite layers.
  • High-value structural parts where hole preservation is critical.

By eliminating the mechanical cutting forces of traditional drilling, E-Drill protects both composite bonds and metal structures, avoiding expensive rework.

Proven in Aerospace Maintenance

E-Drill is trusted on a variety of commercial, military, and rotorcraft platforms. Its controlled, repeatable process has been proven in environments where fastener integrity and structural preservation are essential.

Learn More

E-Drill allows you to remove fasteners from any material stack—metal, composite, or a combination—without damaging the surrounding structure, thanks to its preprogrammed depth control and electrode sizing designed to cut only the fastener.

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