‘Unbeatable’ drilling record beaten and new Atlas Copco drill rig

With fuel efficient features like the new Power Eco function and effective engine speed options, Atlas Copco’s new PowerROC T45 reliably provides the precise power necessary to tackle tough jobs day in and day out. The rig’s straightforward, modular design makes it easy and economical to maintain for greater uptime and productivity.

The PowerROC T45 with an extendable boom is a versatile rig, designed to drill holes ranging from 76 to 127 mm in diameter. Thanks to the engine’s Power Eco function, the rig can be adapted to suit harder or softer rock conditions to save on fuel costs – both in terms of money and environmental impact. By choosing the optimal engine speed to get the job done, 2,000, 2,100 or 2,200 rpm, fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 10%.

“The configuration of PowerROC T45, such as the rock drill and the compressor, makes it a strong, reliable rig,” relates Atlas Copco Product Manager Masanori Kogushi. “The variable engine also helps to conserve energy without compromising the rig’s penetration power.”

For greater dependability and penetration rate, the PowerROC T45 is equipped with a 175 litre/s air compressor and a durable RD 22S standard rock drill. The rig’s rod handling system has also been designed to allow the operator to select which rod in the carousel to use in order to eliminate unexpected downtime due to rod failure.

The PowerROC T45 provides straightforward access to all components for easy service maintenance. Nevertheless, Kogushi assures, “No matter where and when our customers need assistance, the Atlas Copco worldwide service network has professionals available to provide machine owners with quick service and support.”

Atlas Copco claims to develop some of the most fuel-efficient drill rigs in the industry. To put its premium SmartROC drill rigs to the test, an experiment was designed. Could a SmartROC T40 set a new industry record in its class and drill 100 m in less than two hours with a fuel consumption of less than 40 litres?

Drilling to a depth of 100 m took the SmartROC T40 one hour and 53 minutes, with only 34.5 litres of fuel consumed. Hole straightness was 90 % for all five holes drilled during the test, which means that 18 of every 20 m were perfectly straight. The initial experiment was conducted in Sweden under conditions that make it reproducible by others.

“We wanted to create a simple controlled test that anyone in the world could duplicate. The undeniable results show just how well the tough SmartROC performs,” says Atlas Copco Global Product Manager Mats Birkestål.

During the last few months, owners of any SmartROC drill rig across the world have been testing their rigs and reporting extraordinary results. Even seemingly unbeatable records are meant to be broken. New incoming records indicate that fuel efficiency and earnings per cubic meter are greater using a SmartROC than any other surface drill rig on the market today.

The efficient SmartROC surface drill rigs have truly become flagships for energy savings. The accumulation of data continues and any rig owner can perform the test and report results at: mostfuelefficient.com/leaderboard

For optimal drilling efficiency, the high-tech SmartROC drill rigs are equipped with cutting-edge components and features to minimize the cost of drilling and blasting. The 225-hp engine produces only as much energy as needed at any given time during the drilling process. Operators can adjust flushing air volume and dust collector fan speed as required, rather than unnecessarily running at full power. Engine and compressor speed self-adjust according to demand. The concept and results were presented at CONEXPO-CON/AGG.