HIGH PROFILE
Sweden . In many cases we even know the particular drillers personally which all contributes to the quality of test results . We also do a huge amount of testing with Swedish surface contractors as well as tunnelling contractors . But much further afield we have also done a lot of work with leading mining contractors in Australia on underground mining .”
Featuring an industry-first curved thread design , Sandvik ' s new CT55 and CT67 top hammer tool systems are the most advanced the company has launched
Premium top hammers
Sandvik Mining & Rock Solutions through Sandvik Rock Tools sees itself as a first mover and premium innovator in rock tools , and has put these words into action again in recent years , as Paul Moore reports
In the past few years , Sandvik has made the most significant additions to its top hammer tools and technologies line up arguably in over two decades – including a complete optimisation of its Sandvik Alpha™ thread system for underground , plus the all new CT55 and CT67 top hammer tools for surface and underground drilling . Not only that but its revolutionary Autobit for automated top hammer drilling , first introduced in 2021 , has really been making its presence felt in the market , thanks to the use of patented PowerCarbide ® inserts .
On a recent visit to the Sandvik Rock Tools HQ in Sandviken , IM Editorial Director Paul Moore had the chance to sit down with the top hammer product line VP as well as the product managers for both the surface and underground top hammer tools to discuss these developments in detail – why they are significant and why there are a differentiator for Sandvik .
A premium position
We started by talking to Anders Brungs , Vice President Product Line Top Hammer at Sandvik , about the group ’ s well earned premium market position and role . Brungs : “ We are first and foremost I would say a premium tools supplier – by that we mean that we really have unique products that are patented , that bring significant added value to the customer , but also that we devote a lot of investment and time into our R & D . On the patent point , we know we are a leader as we have the most patents of any of the major rock tools suppliers globally , covering design elements , how to reduce stresses , geometry and even the tungsten carbide formulations themselves . On value to the customer this could be increased productivity or improved hole straightness , greater safety , less fuel consumption , or a combination of these .”
Brungs also pointed out how far the industry
has come in terms of technology . “ The standard bit and rod products and designs still being used date back to the 1950s – with these you just can ’ t get performance improvements . These were developed for pneumatic drill rigs running on 8 kW of power – today ’ s rigs use 30 kW .”
But what about those customers that are more initial cost focused , regarding tools as more of a commodity ? He responded : “ In any market you will have customers that are price-based buyers . We of course identify who those are and either leave those to competitors or we train them in better strategies – maybe they are not using the products correctly , or they are not using the right products , or maybe they are not understanding the full scale of costs . We have seen many customers over the years that have gone from being focused on price per piece to gradually being able to see the value of the more engineering products .” And it is also the case that differences can apply from operation to operation sense – there are very few mining companies that have global supply agreements in relation to the rock tools that they use .
Do the customers get involved in product development ? Brungs : “ Some do , yes . We have down a huge amount of new underground product trials in many Swedish mines , as an
example , and many tests with them over the
years . In many ways these Swedish mines represent a base line of technology performance for our products and of course some of the operations are quite accessible to us here in
Alpha innovation in action
We then spoke to Robert Grandin , Product Manager for Top Hammer Underground Tools about Sandvik Alpha™ developments . This is a thread in the bit connection that is mainly used in mine and tunnel development operations ie with drill jumbos . It is optimised for 45 mm drilling which is the industry standard in many of the main mining markets .
Grandin : “ We have had our Sandvik Alpha™ 330 system for a long time – over two decades – and while it is a fairly simple product , it has many outstanding features . It was truly groundbreaking for the time when it was developed and what could be done back then . With today ’ s tooling and treatment machinery combined with simulation , we are able to make big steps forward in product optimisation . We have gone from trial and error to optimisation by computing power first . We have developed a different Sandvik Alpha™ thread profile – so it is in fact asymmetric , meaning that the flank angles are different on the front and back . This hugely reduces the stress area where we have contact , as we have a contact flank in the thread where we tighten the thread , and that is where you develop the most heat and friction , so that is therefore where you see damage and breakage most often .”
He adds : “ Another weak point in the connection is the female connection in the bit – this sets a limit in how big the male thread can be in relation to the female . So we have made improvements internally as well by strengthening the guide section around the tightening flank to add fatigue strength , plus we have reduced the stress levels on the bit , which was then an enabler for us to increase the rod size in terms of diameter by about 1 mm , plus there is now a bigger flushing hole as well . And , last but not least , we have also made the product easier to uncouple with the pitch and flank angles that we have used .”
All of the mentioned Sandvik Alpha™ changes mean a much longer service life . But Grandin says what customers have also really appreciated is this ease of uncoupling . “ Why ? Because this is something that drillers notice on the very first shift .” The uncoupling itself is not yet automated but Grandin said that this is the way things will go . “ We already have an automated bit changer . Rod uncoupling I would say today is semiautomated but I would fully expect full
40 International Mining | MARCH 2024