Atlas Copco’s new four-boom drill rig drives to success in Gothenburg rail tunnel
12/11/2010 12:29:00 PM
A new four-boom drill rig developed by Atlas Copco in cooperation with Nordic tunneling contractor, Veidekke, is proving its worth at a major railway project near Gothenburg, Sweden. The rig, named Boomer XE4 C, is a fully computerized unit designed to drill all pre-grout holes as well as blast holes.
Anders Östberg, Plant and Machine Manager at Veidekke, says: ''It's early days yet but so far the Boomer XE4 C is achieving all the targets we set out to achieve in this project. We have had no major problems and we are especially pleased with the efficiency of the new Auto RHS E rod handling system. It's working extremely well.''
It therefore came as no surprise when Veidekke, the Nordic tunneling specialist, won a contract to drive a new railway tunnel in south-west Sweden and challenged Atlas Copco to produce the necessary equipment. Veidekke knew what they wanted in order to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible - a four boom drill rig that could drill all of the required pre-grouting holes as well as the blast holes, and that would require only one operator.
Atlas Copco and Veidekke cooperated for several months on the specifications and the result was Boomer XE4 C - a fully computerized drill rig with four booms, high performance COP 3038 rock drills, a specially developed automatic rod handling system - Auto RHS E - for drilling of up to 30 m long grout holes, and the Atlas Copco rig control system (RCS) enabling it to be handled by just one operator. The rig was built and delivered in mid-2010 and by December all indications showed that it is fully living up to expectations.
The Boomer XE4 C is proving clearly beneficial both economically, in terms of production speed and also from a safety perspective.
Operator Niklas Karlsson says: ''I think the Boomer XE4 C is a perfect solution for the work we are doing and I am convinced that this new technology will make the whole pre-grouting process much more efficient.''
