TECHNOLOGY
to improve our production by 80 hours in one month . In addition to vastly improved productivity , we also burn less fuel and the operator is less fatigued which has an important safety implication ,” adds Roelofse .
Drilling bigger holes
With the conversion , Roelofse explains that his team is now able to drill holes from sizes of 114mm to 171mm . With a simple equipment change ( drill rod and base on floor ), the rig can reach a hole size of up to 205mm . Moreover , the rig delivers a penetration rate of between 65m and 85m per hour , which is more than double the standard rate of about 28m .
“ Our first response when Liyema Drilling approached us for an excavator and drilling machine was that we sell excavators not drilling machines ,” says Mark Peterson , general manager at Kemach Equipment . “ JCB , however , recognised the potential of this project , and backed-up by Roelofse ’ s extensive experience in the drilling business , decided that it was an exciting and worthwhile project to get involved in . It is Liyema Drilling ’ s objective to have no injuries on site and this drilling machine certainly sets the safety benchmark to the top notch ,” says Peterson .
Roelofse and Karl Meÿer from Liyema Drilling , locally designed , engineered and manufactured the bespoke drilling tower to fit the JS205 excavator . Eight years ago , Basie and Karl produced the first drilling tower on an excavator which is still operational .
The drilling tower incorporates an automatic rod changing functionality which enables the operator to automatically change the rods from the safety and comfort of his user-friendly ROPS / FOPS cabin allowing him to drill 5m from high walls . Not only is the operator protected from all risks and hazards during the drilling act , but a lot of time is also saved by the fact that he does not need to move away from the 5m area to change rods .
Ideal for a drilling machine
Roelofse immediately recognised the suitability of the JS205 excavator to convert into a drilling machine . “ The 20-ton excavator is exactly what is required for carrying the drill tower for efficient line
Kemach Equipment , Liyema Drilling and Integrated Air Solutions partnered to convert a JCB JS 205 excavator into a state-of-the-art drill rig .
The JCB JS 205 drill and blast rig is fitted with two separate independent triple action fire suppression systems from Fogmaker South Africa .
and 360 ° drilling – compact , mechanical , economical and uncomplicated ,” he says .
The fact that the boom remains stationary reduces wear and tear and extends equipment life . The excavator ’ s wider 600mm span tracks facilitate accessibility , allowing for drilling to continue even in severe muddy conditions to maximise uptime . Furthermore , the machine ’ s convenient bolt-on system means no laborious welding is required .
The counter-weight at the rear of the JS205 has been replaced with a customised 14-bar ELGi compressor . “ In consultation with Kemach Equipment we had to shorten our 900cfm compressor from 4m to 3.2m to fit onto the new rig ,” says Graham Russell , CEO at Integrated Air Solutions . Russell further explains that they also fabricated the custom sub-frame to house the compressor .
Bringing the JS205 and the ELGi compressor together is a win-win
22 _ QUARRY SA | MAY / JUNE 2018