Construction World March 2017

In this type of application, the Furukawa PCR200 rock drill is the perfect companion. It is compact, yet powerful enough to undertake heavy drilling jobs in terrain that would be inaccessible to larger rigs. Simultaneously, due to its smaller footprint, it is also able to operate in the type of comparatively confined spaces that are often encountered in geotechnical and civils-types of applications. According to James Linton, national product manager for ELB Equipment, the sole distributors of Furukawa Rock Drill in southern Africa, the reason for the success of the rig is its go-anywhere versatility and simplicity. “Today a contractor might be drilling for foundations in an urban environment and tomorrow may require drilling to be done on top of a rock outcrop in a rural environment. “The Furukawa PCR200 therefore provides them with an opportunity to tow it behind a vehicle across the roughest terrain where it can be pneumatically driven to the end-location where drilling will take place. This has earned it the nickname, Klipspringer, which is a small and agile antelope that can jump from rock-to-rock while maintaining speed and stamina to elude predators. This is exactly what the Furukawa PCR200 is capable of.” He adds that the rig is a fully pneumatic crawler drill with a top hammer operation. Despite its size, it is a very powerful machine that has the ability to drill up to 102 mm holes up to 20 metres in depth which is ideal for smaller-scale blasting. It also has a manual rod feed up to 20 m with the ability to swing the boom horizontally and drill holes for foundations work and for pin bolts in ground stabilisation etc. The Furukawa PCR200 also features dual control systems, on the platform and on the mast, which enables the operator to control drilling without an assistant. This makes it idea; for civils, small opencast blasting, pipeline installations, geotechnical, oversize boulder drilling, electric pylons or wherever holes are required. "Furukawa filled the niche for this type of drill so well that the PCR 200 has been around for 40 years. In its latest guise, it provides the perfect mix of ruggedness with ongoing technological improvements that make it more productive and even more reliable than ever before. It is sold and comprehensively supported by ELB Equipment throughout Southern Africa. What’s more, we have the accumulated knowledge locally and abroad to assist customers to find solutions to their every drilling requirement,” concludes James.  Rock drill for varied construction jobs Finding a rock drill that is versatile enough to work in all areas, regardless of space constraints and underfoot conditions, is a top requirement of construction fleet owners who additionally require power and reliability to ensure uninterrupted drilling when the pressure is on.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2017