If you're interested in finding out how subsea diamond wire saws are constructed and how they work, take alook at our visual guide to help you understand the basics. 

For a quick snapshot you can view the image below, but for a clearer and closer look we recommend you click here to download the illustration in Pdf format.

For full technical specifications of our full range of diamond wire saws we recommend you download the Diamond Wire Saw Buyers Guide, which explains more about their applications, compares their specifications and lists related accessories also use don subsea cutting projects.

There are a number of different kinds of heavy duty diamond wire saws available to rent or purchase and choosing the right machine along with all of the relevant the options and accessories for your particular needs can seem a little daunting.

Above: The Mirage CHT1000-SSSW subsea hot tapping machine 

Hot tapping challenges

Although the hot tapping has process has been carried out routinely by pipeline engineers for many decades, each project presents different obstacles to be overcome such as:

The origins of the Diamond Wire Saw

The practice of using diamonds for cutting hard materials can be traced back to Egypt as far back as 2500 BC. However, the industrial type of diamond wire saws we use today are a much more recent development and originate back to in England in the 1950’s when diamond electroplated beads were threaded onto a multi-strand steel cable. Over the next 30 years various companies refined the process (which was also helped by the production of synthetic diamonds becoming more efficient) and the first commercially viable solution was used at Carrara marble quarries in Italy in the late 1960s.

 Above: A Mirage Double Drill Unit creating lift holes to aid the removal of a caisson.

With oil and gas decommissioning projects on the increase, knowing in advance how to choose the equipment best suited to each specific job will help you to plan and budget your project more effectively.

So which machines are suited to the wide variety of decommissioning tasks the typical project engineer is faced with?

Based upon the challenges our customers have faced, we’ve provided a quick overview matching the machines used in recent decommissioning projects with the most common decommissioning tasks.