Pressrelease - Tamrock 03/18/2005

MAKING WORK A BLAST WITH BOOM-MOUNTED DRILLING ATTACHMENTS

A HITACHI CONSTRUCTION AND MINING PRODUCTS PUBLICATION
THIRD ISSUE 2008

A few years ago, Dale MacLean of Jock’s Blasting & Son broke away from the pack. He was tired of the traditional pre-blasting drilling methods that used a variety of stationary- and track- mounted air-powered drills and struck out on his own. “We’ve been drilling and blasting in the Vernon area of British Columbia for nearly 30 years,” says MacLean. “Our company has carved out a substantial part of the rock required to build in the Canadian Costal Mountain areas north of Kelowna and south of Kamloops, British Columbia. We’ve done well, but it was time for a change.”

MacLean did his homework and discovered two companies that would change his company forever. One was Hitachi, with Wajax Industries as the area dealer. The other was Traxxon Rock Drills Ltd., a Vancouver-area company that had just begun manufacturing a purpose-built drilling attachment that quick mounts on hydraulic excavators. It wasn’t long before he decided to play matchmaker.

EXCAVATOR AND DRILL COMBO

“Actually, we started our transition to Hitachi in 2005 when we bought a ZX270LC-1,” recalls MacLean. “We used it to dig out areas. The 270 is an excellent machine and continues to be an important part of our operation. We came to appreciate its Isuzu engine as long lasting and really fuel-efficient. No doubt about it, Hitachi builds a first-class machine.

“We also were convinced that the Traxxon drill would do a good job for us, and it obvious that pairing Hitachi with Traxxon would be a great match. The Traxxon drill is powered from the excavator’s hydraulic flow, same as a hammer or other attachment. There’s also an air compressor that blows off the cutting dust. The Hitachi has sufficient horsepower and pump volumes to run it without a problem. So the drill, air compressor, and excavator form a very efficient, self-contained unit.”

DRILLING TO SPEC
British Columbia’s Coastal Mountains are a prime vacation area. Strict environmental regulations control the footprint of construction on new developments.

“We bought the Hitachi ZX240LC-3 equipped with the Traxxon TR-EX2000 hydraulic rock drill so that we could effectively cut roadways and trench lines without leaving the designated right of way. We can’t disturb the natural habitat or the lay of the land except in designated areas. Following the developers’ plans, which already incorporate the various government regulations, means each lot retains its greatest possible value and we avoid any penalties or delays.”

OUTSTANDING RESULTS
The company is currently working on a mountaintop development overlooking the town of Vernon. “We’re building the road first, then we’ll help trench the utilities. As the lots are sold, we’ll blast and build the driveways.” Now that Jock’s Blasting is using the Zaxis 240LC-3/Traxxon combination, the results have been outstanding.

“We thought the 240 would work well with the drill,” says MacLean. “It actually has greater hydraulic pump pressure than our 270, plus a little more horsepower and less weight — all of which is good because we’re primarily using the ZX240LC-3 as a work platform. But unlike the single-purpose platform packages that we’ve used in the past, the 240 has enough reach to let us drill beyond the right of way as well as do all of our drill bolts to secure rock faces.

“On top of that, we really have two machines in one. If necessary, we can drop the drilling attachment and put on a bucket. And if the blasting market dramatically slows, we can bid for excavating jobs and keep right on moving. Either way, we have a machine that has already paid for itself from drilling, but has many, many productive hours left. It also has high resale value. You can’t say that about specified rigs, because if things get slow and you want to sell them — so does everyone else.

“Our Hitachi units have been excellent machines. The ZX240LC-3, since it is essentially a tool carrier, averages around four gallons of fuel per hour at full rpm. That’s because it spends a lot of time idling. When it’s not running at full rpm, which is fairly often, the fuel usage is even less.

“Our research had showed the fuel economy of the Isuzu was far better than others, which we like a lot. We just don’t worry too much about diesel fuel increases. They are there, of course, but they’re manageable. Bottom line, the ZX240LC-3 does more with less overall weight and fuel. We like Hitachi.”
Jock’s Blasting and Son Ltd. is serviced by Wajax Industries, Kamloops, British Columbia.

Sidebars

High-performance rock-drill attachments
Thinking about buying a rock-drill attachment for use in blasting, pre-shear, or rock work? Excavator-mounted attachments offer many benefits over dedicated rigs. Because the attachment mounts on the excavator arm, the reach is considerable. There are incredible geometric possibilities which make drilling possible at nearly every angle. They have excellent mobility. And they have a much lower capital cost compared to dedicated crawler rigs.

Since the rock drill runs on the hydraulic system of the excavator and exerts little wear and tear on the excavator itself, the drill attachment can extend the life of a semiretired excavator. It also increases the opportunities for a new one by giving a contractor a very effective and extremely versatile piece of modern drilling equipment. As the attachment uses the bucket linkage, changing between the rock drill and a bucket should not be too complicated or time-consuming.

Decisions to Make
There are a number of rock-drill attachments suitable for blasting and rockwork available on the market. These are not to be confused with attachments suitable for foundation work, which make larger-hole diameters and go much deeper. Hitachi does not have a list of “approved” third-party attachment vendors, but certainly Tramac, TEI, John Henry, and Traxxon are some companies to investigate.

Of utmost importance is the need to match the hydraulic capacity of the excavator to the size of the rock drill. You also need to determine if there is enough capacity left over to drive the air compressor, which flushes out the hole. If there is not enough, you’ll need to get an auxiliary engine-driven air compressor and mount it to the excavator. So you may want to look for an excavator large enough to provide hydraulic power for everything — the drill functions, positioning, and the air compressor.

Although your Hitachi excavator comes plumbed for most attachments, you will need to add extra lines for air and electrical, and possibly grease. If you need the engine- driven compressor, the counterweight will need to be removed and/or adjusted as well. As a result, your sleek orange beauty will have all kinds of things clustered on it, changing its operating width, length, and height.

Where to start
If you are a newcomer to rock-drill attachments, we recommend you check with your Hitachi dealer and tell them what you have in mind. If they have any questions, they can contact the Hitachi Custom Engineering staff, who in turn can answer questions, give advice, and in general help facilitate a smooth working relationship between the manufacturer, the dealer, and the customer.

Features of the Traxxon used by Jock’s Blasting & Son Ltd.

1. Cylinder feed for smooth operation and increased steel life

2. Large heavy-duty stabilizer foot to alleviate pressure on the drill-feed beam and a five-foot feed extension for fast hole setup

3. Fully proportioned hydraulic valves mounted in a protective box on the attachment

4. Single-point lifting eye for easy transport

5. 360-degree feed swing actuated by Traxxon’s patented self-locking positioner and 180-degree dump actuated by the excavator’s bucket cylinder

6. Heavy-duty RE2000 high-tensile aluminum feed beam with adjustable and replaceable nylon guides riding on stainless-steel linings

7. Easy-to-operate, cab-mounted compact control box

Reprinted with permission.