World's biggest mass production hydraulic breaker used in Germany for the first time
The HB 10000 from Atlas Copco has replaced the company’s HB 7000 as the world's largest mass production hydraulic breaker and is already an international bestseller. Now the leading supplier of industrial productivity solutions is celebrating its first sales of the breaker in Germany. The company Mendiger Basalt has been using an HB 10000 for gravel extraction since January 2016 – and thanks to its high levels of efficiency and performance – now considers it to be a commercial alternative to blasting.
The HB 10000 is being used to extract basalts from the lower basalt lava flow in the wall of a quarry near Mendig. Mendiger Basalt is working closely with A.B.T. Abbruchtechnik GmbH who have 12 years' experience as an Atlas Copco sales partner. With its in-depth service expertise, A.B.T. is helping Mendiger Basalt achieve the highest extraction performance from the breaker with maximum availability and efficiency.
The HB 7000 had been used very successfully at the Mendig quarry for the last three years. When this machine reached its performance limit in mid-2015 it was an easy decision to change over to the HB 10000.
According to Managing Director, Rainer Krings, "The HB 7000 showed us the correct route to pursue and in many sectors the hitting force of this breaker would be enough to meet our needs (120 to/h extraction performance). However, we recognized that many areas are particularly firm and compacted and these are harder to loosen. With approximately 30 percent more hitting energy the HB 10000’s performance is very impressive and has enabled us to develop more difficult extraction areas commercially."
Mendiger Basalt has been researching alternative stone recovery methods for a long time as the use of explosives in sensitive areas is very complicated due to shocks. The company is using hydraulic breakers for direct extraction alongside alternative explosives and a range of mechanical demolition equipment. This is the method used to extract basalt lava, basalt and tuff in the company's five quarries. In the adjacent saw mill the 50 employees produce ballast and high-grade chippings as well as high-quality sawn products.
After many years of explosion-free demolition of hard stone, the responsible officer at Mendig has established that the cost of using a hydraulic breaker is not significantly higher than conventional blasting, as the total cost of the crushing process must include the cost of any additional reductions needed when carrying out explosive work.
Krings praises the benefit of making the material crush-ready in one work step. "In addition, we do not lose any time due to safety precautions and cordoned-off zones which are required when working with explosives."
