Demolition In UAE! pages: 38-40 - Pdworld.com

E-Z drilling for UK’s Diamanttek
The specialist UK diamond drilling, sawing
and demolition contractor Diamanttek, based
in Bolton, Lancashire, has made considerable
time and cost savings and achieved substantial
environmental and safety benefits by hiring an
American E-Z Drill pedestrian controlled drilling
rig for use on a vast waste processing and recycling
project in Lancashire. Diamanttek used
the E-Z Drill 20 UTL rig to drill about 4,000
vertical holes into the reinforced concrete floor
slabs of three huge buildings to install studs to
support rail tracks for special overhead gantry
mounted waste rotovators. The drill, hired from
Castellan in Milton Keynes, proved so successful
it has been transferred to another similar
waste processing plant at nearby Leyland to
perform an identical operation.
Eliminate risks
Diamanttek has also found the 20 UTL rig to
be more accurate, versatile, efficient and environmentally
acceptable than traditional hand
held drills. The company says that the simple,
safe and easy to use drill completely eliminates
the risk for its operator from vibration white
finger and hand-arm vibration associated
with conventional hand held percussive drills.
Diamanttek’s drill operator can use the 20 UTL
rig throughout an entire 8 hour shift without
stopping, unlike a normal hand held drill where
the operator would have to stop after an hour.
“The E-Z Drill is very good as our drill operator
is not holding the drill when it’s drilling, so
there is no transfer of vibration, unlike normal
hand held drills,” says Diamanttek operations
manager Chris Holloway, who has over 25
years experience in the drilling, sawing and
demolition industry.
480 holes a day!
The 20 UTL is part of the leading American
automatic drilling system manufacturer’s extensive
range of equipment available exclusively in
Europe through concessionaire Castellan. The
20 UTL uses the standard E-Z Drill variable
feed system comprising a CP32A rock drill
mounted in a carriage, which is moved in and
out by an air cylinder controlled by a joystick.
The equipment is supported in a simple frame
with two pneumatic tyred wheels allowing the
operator to quickly and easily move, reposition
and accurately align the drill for the next hole.
This enables remotely controlled drilling with
minimum hand and arm vibration exposure for
the operator. A single tool compressor powers
all the functions of the E-Z Drill rig.
Diamanttek hired the 20 UTL rig from
Castellan to vertically drill 24mm diameter
holes, 300mm deep on a rectangular grid
pattern to take resin bonded threaded rods
for the steel plates supporting the rail tracks.
Diamanttek had to drill the holes and install
a pair of rail tracks in one portal framed
building, which is 190m long and two others
at 150m long.
“The rail installation has been critical to
enable the gantries to be erected on time and
the E-Z Drill has proved to be fast, very cost
effective, easy to operate, user friendly and
very simple to maintain,” says Chris Holloway.
“There is absolutely no risk to the operator of
hand or arm vibration. The operator training
for the 20 UTL has been so simple. The
operator can easily drill 60 holes/hour or 480
holes/day with the E-Z Drill. The actual drilling
for each hole only takes about 38 seconds
and about 20 seconds to move and reposition
for the next hole. So it is easy to drill a hole a
minute. We did drill a few holes with a normal
hand held drill, which took about 10 minutes/
hole or 6 holes/hour. So it’s fair to say the 20
UTL is at least 10 times faster than a hand
held drill and considerably cheaper.”
www.castellan.co.uk
Independent test for
K 750 power cutter
An independent study by Chalmers University of
Technology in Sweden has confirmed that the
Husqvarna K 750 power cutter has an exceptional
ergonomic design. The relationship between its
centre of gravity, its handles and the cutting point
makes it easier to handle and requires less force
for both vertical and horizontal cutting.
“Husqvarna has a long tradition of developing
products with a strong user focus. We have been
doing this ever since our first hand-held chain saws
and clearing saws were introduced in the 1950s.
When the first power cutters were launched, it was
natural to integrate the same ergonomic ideas into
their design too. We’ve known for a long time that
our machines are ergonomic, but it’s really good to
have it in black and white”, says Husqvarna Construction
Products Power Cutters Product Manager
Håkan Aldén. “Our customers increasingly appreciate
ergonomics and user-friendliness. They see that
a machine that is
so simple and
convenient
to handle
not only
benefits
the user,
but also
m e a n s
more efficient cutting. The new, more
rigorous EU rules, for instance with
regard to vibrations, are clearly driving
developments towards more ergonomic
machines.”
Chalmers examined how much force is
needed to exert a pressure of 100 kiloponds.
It turns out that a machine whose front handle
and centre of gravity are positioned close to
the cutting point, as in the Husqvarna K 750,
needs less muscle power to reach this pressure
than machines whose handle and centre of
gravity are further from the cutting point.
“The essential point is to
minimize the force needed to
control the machine during
operation,” says Håkan Aldén.
“This makes it easier to work
with, the user does not get tired
so easily and the risk of accidents is reduced.
Ultimately, the job can be done more quickly and
with higher quality.”
www.husqvarnacp.com
36 PDi • Is s u e 3 - 2009 • Au g - Se p t