Rock tools technology company Robit says it is the first company in the world to develop a patented measuring system that can measure the straightness of a hole during the percussive drilling process – real time measurement of hole straightness with the drill bit. The system is the result of an intensive seven year R&D program at Robit and is in operation at selected customers. “Unlike existing, time-consuming manual systems, measuring during the drilling process does not require an extra work phase in the drilling process. The measurements are available immediately after drilling a hole. You can see a 3D view of the drilled hole in the drilling pattern.”
When drilling holes in rock, the holes often turn away from the desired direction, and in long holes the deviation may even be several metres. Hole deviation results in inefficient operations on a site and in the worst case may create hazards. The new system measures the actual straightness of drill holes immediately, so the information can be utilised in optimising and charging a rock face. It will be formally launched at Intermat 2015 in Paris, April 20-25.
Optimising charging raises efficiency in drilling by:
– Optimising crushing aggregates through controlled charging and blasting, no oversized boulders
– Ensuring safe blasting without the risk of flying rocks
– Optimising yield from the orebody by avoiding drilling into waste rock
– Increasing the overall productivity of the blasting and crushing process
– Cutting costs for fuel and explosives and reducing downtime
– Storing all drilling data in a database to develop your drilling process
– Raising overall efficiency
Since the results are obtained immediately, it is possible to react to any hole deviation when positioning and directing the following holes. The system functions in all types of rock formations – even in magnetic ore.
Robit is a Finnish company with 30 years’ experience serving the mining and construction industries. Specialised offerings consist of Top Hammer Rock Drilling Tools and DTH Ground Drilling Tools. “With firm roots in the deep, hard Scandinavian granite and the Finnish mining industry, Robit possess indepth knowledge of drilling in the most challenging rock types. Robit has become a global company headquartered in Finland, with a presence today in more than 110 countries. Successful partner network collaboration has played a large part in this growth. At present, Robit’s high quality products are manufactured on two continents, in Finland and South Korea.” Robit has sales offices in the US, South Africa, Peru, China and Russia.