Cutting-edge hydraulic breakers, drills and hammers are a feature of 2014, with the recent Steinexpo show hosting the launch of more new models. Guy Woodford reports.
Founded in 1998 in the Kannur district of Kerala, in southern India, National Granite and Hollow Bricks currently employs 40 people and is a leading producer of granite building stone. Resistant to wear and tear as well as weathering, this material is currently in great demand across the construction industry, with India being one of the largest exporters of granite worldwide. As part of the quarrying process, the granite rocks resulting from primary blasting need to undergo secondary breaking to fit into the jaw crushers.
In order to effectively perform this operation, National Granite sought out Chicago Pneumatic’s breaking equipment. After a successful on-site demonstration, the company purchased its first CP1150 rig-mounted medium hydraulic breaker in 2006, followed by a RX22 a few years later.
“We are impressed by the toughness and reliability of Chicago Pneumatic hydraulic breakers, which are proving ideal for our quarrying operations,” says National Granite’s managing partner, Mohamed Nazeer adding: “Having already clocked 10,000 and 5,000 hours respectively, our CP1150 and RX22 are helping us increase our quarry’s overall productivity with low maintenance costs.”
Said to be thanks to their innovative design, featuring limited components and only two moving parts, Chicago Pneumatic’s medium hydraulic breakers are built to ensure high reliability and endurance. Other key features include internal control valves for improved efficiency, a power booster for higher performance and a lower vibration and central lubrication port for easier maintenance. Furthermore, Chicago Pneumatic’s medium breaker range features dust wipers and ventilation ports for better dust protection, which make it ideal for quarrying and mining applications.
Not only is Chicago Pneumatic’s construction equipment helping National Granite improve its breaking process, but also its primary drilling operations, which precede the blasting phase. In order to effectively power its drills to drill holes in the rocks, the quarry is currently relying on a CPP60E portable air compressor, which has already clocked 5,000 hours of reliable service. “This portable compressor is easy to operate and maintain as well as being reliable and tough”, says Nazeer, adding: “All these features makes this product a great fit for a very demanding application such as drilling granite.”
A single axle electric driven compressor, the CPP60E has been specifically designed by Chicago Pneumatic to provide compressed air to pneumatic tools such as rock drills and demolition tools. With low rotor speed and a few moving parts, this compressor ensures high reliability and long working life, by minimising wear and tear. In addition, its single high performance two-stage air intake filter prevents dust and dirt particles from entering the engine. Other key features include a user-friendly control panel and canopy doors opening outwards for easy access and maintenance.
The recent
Dino DC400Ri is a hydraulic, self-propelled, self-contained, crawler-based surface drilling unit with full radio remote control operation for 51–76mm holes. It is said to offer top drilling performance with a new RD414 rock drill, a robust boom said to have the largest coverage area of its size, a patented collaring guide and an economical Tier 4 Final engine. Due to its versatility, the Dino DC400Ri is said by Sandvik Construction to be the perfect machine for drilling and blasting contractors, but suitable also for quarries and the municipal sector. Its typical applications consist of road construction, demolition works, secondary breaking, foundation drilling and trenching.
The new, extremely fast RD414 rock drill by Sandvik Construction has been specially designed for the Dino DC400Ri. It is said to provide smooth penetration, yet is kind to the rock tools. A new patented collaring guide makes starting a hole easy and accurate even in inclined rock. The completely new boom, with a robust design and said to be the largest coverage area in its class, ensures perfect support for the feed during drilling, but also enables more drilling hours from one single setup. On top of this, the powerful tramming motors and low tramming height with its low centre of gravity, as well as full radio control for the entire rig, ensure that the Dino DC400Ri will respond with precision even in the most uneven terrain.
The Dino DC400Ri comes equipped with the latest fuel saving systems. These consist of electric load sensing, ambient controlled cooler fans, a hydraulic compressor control system that utilises the latest technology, optimised airlines and fuel efficient Tier 4 Final engine. All of these features combine to provide very low fuel consumption. Additionally, easy maintenance through ground level service points, onboard diagnostics and small transportation dimensions, are benefits resulting from the completely new drill rig layout.
“The Dino DC400Ri really is a drill rig that combines all the best features that result from many years of engineering experience gained in this business, all combined with what we have learnt from our customers,” says Ilkka Lahdelma, product line manager Surface Drilling, Sandvik Construction.
Sandvik Construction says it has also taken the well-known DPi series surface top hammer drill rigs to a completely new level with notable upgrades to the rigs’ productivity and economy. Steinexpo 2014 also saw Sandvik Construction unveil the series’ latest version, Pantera DPi 6.0, which introduces features including a redesigned operating system combined with other substantial upgrades and a completely new rock drill.
The Pantera DPi 6.0’s redesigned control system has an updated user interface and touch screen. Featuring Sandvik’s latest user interface style, support for new drill rig options and enhanced troubleshooting functions, the new control system is said to provide easier and even more accurate operations. It also comes with improved hardware components that further add to the reliability and productivity of the drill rig.
To optimise its drilling performance, the new Pantera DPi 6.0 drill rig is available with a high frequency RD1635CF rock drill with Circulating Shank Lubrication System (CSL) said to guarantee fast and efficient penetration.
The new Miller breaker range sets itself apart from the competition, according to the firm, by offering a complete package to maximise the customer’s uptime. Designed for optimum performance and durability, it includes a dual-speed control, auto-stop system, large accumulator and auto-lubrication as standard.
Through an expert service team, Miller says it can provide 98% availability and next-day delivery on genuine replacement parts to all UK customers. This allows clients to minimise downtime and on-site disruption, which can result in significant cost savings.
Furukawa Rock Drill Europe has two new models of crawler drills for the European market.
The HCR1400-ED and the HCR1600-ED replace the successful HCR1200-EDII and HCR1500-EDII models in the European market only. The key new features of the latest models are said to be the new Tier 4i/Stage IIIB engines, increased drifter impact power and increased flushing capacity. Additionally, other improvements focus on increased operator comfort, east of maintenance and lower operating cost.
The HCR1400-ED was unveiled at Steinexpo 2014, with the HCR1600-ED available later this year.
Meanwhile, FRD’s newest line of hydraulic breakers for excavators is said to represent the latest in design technology. Four new FXJ models - FXJ175, FXJ275, FXJ375 and FXJ475 - were also unveiled at Steinexpo 2014.The quartet replaces the five models in the XP series.
Said to boast a number of patented enhancements, the FXJ series, according to FRD, improves daily performance, offering less maintenance and downtime, smoother operation, superior strength and ultimate reliability. A claimed wider hydraulic flow allows for the hydraulic breakers to be used on a broad range of carriers, reducing inventory while increasing utilisation.
