Rock Drilling
Rock drilling requires steels that can withstand the toughest environments. With a strong tradition in this field, we supply products with superior fatigue and wear resistance for all the parts used in a drill string.
Rock drilling tools are exposed to some of the most demanding working conditions found anywhere. These include heavy impact, high frequency hammering and extreme abrasion. At Ovako we have experience of owning and operating our own mines. As a result, we have a deep knowledge of applying steel with the right properties to withstand the extreme loads encountered in every part of the drill string. That is why leading companies in the global mining industry specify our clean steel for their rock tools.
The punishing conditions of percussive drilling push the limits of most materials. And heavy mechanical loads are only the beginning. High impact energies at high frequency are a major source of fatigue. High temperatures result from impact energy losses. And abrasive, erosive and adhesive wear are constant risks. Handling any of these varying demands at a single point along the drill string is difficult enough – which makes optimizing the entire drilling system an extremely complex challenge.
We support all three areas of rock drilling: top hammer, down-the-hole (DTH) and rotary drilling. In top hammer drilling, our steel is used for all the parts from shank adaptor to the drill bit. This also includes all parts of the drill rods and coupling. For DTH and reverse circulation drilling we also supply steel for all parts of the drill string, from tubes and end pieces down to the hammer and bit. For rotary drilling and diamond core drilling we supply material for the actual drilling tools as well as components such as raise bore cutters, tricone bits and legs, PDC bits, diamond core bits and core retrieval systems.
