Capital Equipment News June 2021

up-to-date with the new technology from the OEMs.” William Kang, sales manager at Disa Equipment, a supplier of Tonly, Everdigm and Doosan, says construction machinery is becoming larger and more automated, and that breaker manufacturers are expanding their line-ups in the ongoing quest for increased tonnages and power. “At the same time, optional parts such as automatic greasing devices are also becoming common, to increase user convenience.” He says hydraulic hammers are often used in the built environment, where noise pollution is problematic: “To reduce noise, we need a box-type covering over the breaker, but this could affect the breaker’s performance negatively as it would increase oil temperature. However, excavators of today run at lower temperatures and breaker performance could be improved by stabilising the oil temperature, so lowering noise levels.” Mismatched breaker, carrier Jackson says mismatching the breaker to the carrier is a “recipe for disaster on many fronts, much like taking a knife to a gunfight: in terms of safety, cost and reputation, choosing a breaker that is too small for the carrier or job – or vice versa – should be avoided at all costs. “The customer ultimately needs to break rock and get the job done, but how hard and fissured is the rock and how much is there to process? We determine these and then work backwards from there: which breaker has sufficient energy to break what we see? Which tool should be attached to the breaker? “We then determine which carrier will be able to best drive the selected breaker and ensure that the breaker will fit and be able to manoeuvre safely in the work area. It is usually a case of ‘the guy with the biggest gun wins’: providing the most breaking energy within the site constraints is best, but affordability is obviously also a factor for many.” He says it is “exceptionally easy” for even the most novice customer to choose the right Epiroc breaker by means of a ‘match finder’ function on the company’s website. Naidu agrees on the importance of matching the excavator to the hammer, as the flows and pressures determine the efficiency of the latter: “The correct weight category extends excavator and hammer lifespan within the normal wear and tear to both units.” To Kang, matching the breaker with the carrier’s service weight is important as this creates optimal operating conditions. “Mounting a breaker which is too

With Epiroc’s HB 10000, the power generated in a single impact between piston and working tool corresponds to a weight force of some 760 t.

Construction machinery is becoming larger and more automated, and breaker manufacturers are expanding their line-ups in the quest for increased tonnages and power

Any developments on the excavator or carrier side must be complemented by developments or improvements on the breaker

Mismatching the breaker to the carrier is a recipe for disaster on many fronts

Choosing a breaker that is too small for the carrier or job – or vice versa – should be avoided at all costs

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large for the carrier can cause unstable carrier conditions and damage to the carrier boom, while using a breaker which is too small could reduce performance and cause damage to the breaker’s components.” To Tecman’s Bendall, however, it is “moderately to extremely important” for the breaker to match its carrier, depending on the application.

“Where the material is easily broken, matching the hydraulic hammer and the carrier is of moderate importance as there is very little resonance caused by the material not breaking.” However, where the material has high uniaxial compression strength (UCS), it is “absolutely crucial” to use the largest hammer the carrier machine can support as this will reduce the resonance returned

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