Drilling Equipment: Kinder, gentler drilling

Whether it’s a large quarry rig or a hand-held diamond coring tool, the predominant trends in drilling equipment are consistent: energy efficiency, autonomy and ease of operation. This is because the end goal is the same: maximum productivity with a dwindling pool of skilled workers.

In the interest of promoting ‘emissions free’ drilling, Liebherr introduced its electric-hydraulic LB 16 ‘unplugged’ drilling rig at Bauma last year. The first battery-powered drilling rig to be introduced globally, according to the manufacturer, the deep foundation machine can be operated without a cable.

Roland Noestler, product management deep foundation equipment at Liebherr, says there are no restrictions in performance and application for the 55-metric-ton, 265-kilowatt-electric-powered LB 16 when compared to conventional, diesel-powered models.

The machine causes no local emissions and creates significantly less noise, he states, making it suitable for operation in noise-sensitive areas.

Unplugged, battery-powered drilling

The battery charge is designed to last for a ten-hour working shift and can be recharged overnight using a conventional job site electric supply (32 A, 63 A). Using a 125 A supply, the battery can be fast-charged in about seven hours.

“Our target was to design a rig which is able to work emission free for one shift without cable connection, or ‘unplugged,’ only powered by a battery,” Noestler says. “You charge your machine overnight and you’re ready to go.”

While more expensive than a diesel-powered rig, there are fewer maintenance costs for the battery-powered LB 16, which is Liebherr’s smallest drilling rig.

Is electrification the future for drilling rigs? Some manufacturers think so. “Electric drilling has existed now for decades as the main power source for the underground drill rigs,” explains Tommi Salo, product manager, underground drills, Sandvik Mining and Construction. “The power source for the moving of the drill rig has been diesel, but it will be most likely replaced in the near future with electric motor and batteries.”

A note about noise in drilling applications

Electric drills are quieter drills, and the goal of reducing noise on the job site is not a new one. While the sounds associated with actual drilling can’t be eliminated, they can be reduced, and so can the noise connected with the motor driving the rig.

Vermeer Corp., which manufactures a range of small utility directional drilling rigs in the 6,000-pound range all the way up to a 1.3-million-pound pipeline rig, is always striving for less job site disturbance with the design of its machines, according to Tod Michael, product manager, trenchless products.

“We don’t just refer to it as noise, we’re also focused on managing drilling fluids so the operator can direct the machine to where they want and not leave a mess on the ground,” Michael explains.

“Everybody’s striving to have less impact on the job site and the environment. A lot of equipment is doing work in urban areas and we want to protect the neighbourhood and businesses from disturbance as much as possible.”

Michael says drilling rigs don’t traditionally have a lot of sound shielding around the engine, so larger rigs in particular can generate a lot of noise. As new models have been introduced, however, Vermeer has begun to emulate what excavator manufacturers have done to dampen noise from their machines.

“Our customers have asked for it,” he says. “Noise reduction has a huge impact on operator fatigue. It’s amazing how tired you are at the end of the day with an older machine compared to a newer one. A big issue for the industry is the lack of labour, so the more we can do to improve the life of those individuals, the more likely we’ll be able to pull more people into the industry.”

Digitalisation in drilling

All areas of construction are changing due to increased digitalisation and the data it affords, and drilling is certainly no different. The utilisation of surface models as part of a quarry or construction site planning, and drill rig connectivity with third-party cloud services, are becoming the norm.

To that end, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology has introduced connectivity between its SanRemo remote monitoring system for Sandvik surface drilling equipment and Infrakit Cloud, a solution for connecting work machinery, field equipment and personnel on a single platform. According to the company, this encourages more efficient construction, better quality, real-time accessibility of project data and cost savings.

“The new solution creates a link between our OEM fleet management and third-party mixed-fleet cloud systems to make work easier for contractors, design engineers as well as equipment operators,” explains Tuomo Pirinen, application expertise manager with Surface Drilling and Exploration Division at Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology. “The idea is to hook up with systems that companies already use, to reduce unnecessary complexity.”

The new solution creates a flow of communication between Sandvik drilling equipment, the SanRemo information management system and Infrakit Cloud. The process data generated by onboard automation and TIM3D drill navigation systems can be shared with the systems of both contractors and civil engineering companies.

The ability to share project data with all the relevant systems and parties is a major benefit, according to the company. All the necessary data is available in the cloud.

Data generation on the drill rig is built on the Sandvik TIM3D drill navigation system. TIM3D allows pre-designed drill plans and surface models to be uploaded onto the drill rig, and even to be created or edited on the rig. During and after drilling, the rig stores as-drilled information, driller’s notes, and Measurement-While-Drilling (MWD) data for reporting, quality control and downstream process planning.

Elsewhere, the Bauer Group has announced that an agreement has been reached with Schlumberger to end the joint venture they began together in 2015 for development and construction of large land-based deep drilling rigs for oil and gas.

The two companies agreed to discontinue their joint business due to high overcapacity in the oil drilling business heightened by the low price of oil.

Since 2015, Schlumberger participated in two companies within the Bauer Group with a cash capital increase of 49%: Bauer Manufacturing LLC in the US and Bauer Deep Drilling GmbH in Germany. Due to termination of the joint venture, the Bauer Group has taken over all shares in both companies. Autonomous drilling?

With a reduced labour force and rapidly advancing technological capabilities, it’s no surprise drilling rigs are becoming increasingly autonomous.

“The future of drilling machinery will be smarter and autonomously controlled, and will be integrated with digital technology,” says a representative from major China-based OEM Sany. “The adoption of autonomous technology will reduce the number of labourers employed and ease the operating pressure. Smart technologies make drilling machinery smarter and improve working efficiency.”

The planning process for drilling in quarries and construction sites has undergone a change due to the increased utilisation of surface models, notes Jarno Viitaniemi, product manager, surface drilling, Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology.

“Drill plans are created more frequently forefront in the office with dedicated professionals instead of operators on site or on the drill rig,” he says. “This has also shifted responsibility from the work site to the office. In addition, access to an ever-growing amount of data allows more accurate planning and results in more precise and cost-effective end results.”