What Is a Rock Drill?
Rock drills are construction equipment used to pulverize or bore into walls and rocks by vibrating the tip and striking the rock.
Rock drills were invented in England in the early 1800s, and small rock drills were developed in Japan in the early 1900s. Also known as a “drifter drill,” the rock drill is a mechanized version of the rock bar used in human-powered rock drilling. Drilling means to strike the rock bar against the stone in a continuous and repetitive manner.
Uses of Rock Drills
1. Construction Sites
Rock drills are used to drill and break holes in rocks at civil engineering and construction sites. Rock drills are also used for demolishing paved surfaces and existing structures at construction sites.
2. Mining and Tunneling
Rock drills are used in mining and tunneling to drill holes in the bedrock for loading explosives. The blasting method is widely used for drilling in mining and tunneling. Rock drills are used to drill holes for efficient operations.
3. Underwater Construction
Some types of rock drills can be used underwater and are used for river construction. Rock drills that can be used underwater are useful for removing existing structures underwater and installing new structures in river construction.
4. Stone Processing
Rock drills are also used to cut and shape stone. Rock drills are useful for processing natural stone and creating works of art.
Structure of Rock Drills
Rock drills consist of a machine body, a rod, and a bit, and are driven by compressed air, hydraulic pressure, or electricity. Rock drills are simple in construction, and the bit attached to the end of the rod is pressed against the rock by rotation and blows (vibrations) to drill holes in the rock, using the same principle as when a person strikes a chisel with a hammer.
Types of Rock Drills
Rock drills are widely used in civil engineering. The types of rock drills are as follows:
1. Rock Drills, Breakers, and Electric Hammers
Rock drills are used to drill holes in natural stone and rock drills, while machines called breakers and electric hammers are used to break concrete and asphalt. Some people think that rock drills and breakers are the same, but rock drills use blows and rotation to break objects, while breakers and electric hammers use only impact force to break objects.
Breakers are classified into two methods: “large breaker” and “hand breaker.” The large breaker method uses an attachment attached to a hydraulic excavator to perform demolition, while the hand breaker method can be performed by hand. The hand breaker method is used for work in confined areas where machines cannot penetrate.
Electric hammers work the same way and generally refer to power tools with a smaller output. Rock drills, breakers, and electric hammers are construction equipment with the same role, but there are differences in their features, so it is important to select the right machine for the right purpose.
2. Vibration Drill
Vibration drills are drills that are equipped with the ability to vibrate, whereas drills generally only rotate. The rotation and vibration of the drill bit attached to the tip of the tool allows it to drill holes in concrete and other materials.
Many vibration drills have a function to stop vibration and can be used as electric drills.
3. Hammer Drill
Hammer drills combine the functions of both a drill and a hammer, and are used for drilling holes, excavation, trenching, and other work. While vibration drills use rotation and vibration, hammer drills use rotation and impact to drill holes in objects. Hammer drills can be selected from three patterns: rotation & impact, rotation only, or impact only.
4. Down-The-Hole
Down-the-hole is a method of vertically drilling holes or crushing bedrock, and is used in geological surveys and mining sites. A down-the-hole hammer is attached to the end of a screw, and piston motion (impact) using high-pressure air from a compressor is used to drill through solid bedrock.
5. Crawler Drill
Crawler drills are drilling machines with drilling equipment mounted on a vehicle body that can be propelled by crawlers (caterpillars). They are mainly used in civil engineering works, mines, quarries, etc. The drills attached to the boom can change the drilling angle, making them suitable for a wide variety of sites.