In the world of HDD, a “routine” bore is a rarity. In such cases, tapping a team of tooling professionals can be an invaluable asset.
Custom reamer solution during fabrication.
This was the case when a Colorado contractor recently contacted the StraightLine HDD custom solutions team. Taking the call at 6:45 p.m., the team spent the next 80 minutes gaining an understanding of soil conditions, the capabilities of machine being used for the ream, as well as what they were trying to accomplish and why.
Following the phone call, the StraightLine team focused on developing at least three options to solve the contractor’s dual-issue problem.
Finished product waiting for its turn in the paint booth.
1: Soil Condition. The job called for the installation of 30-inch steel pipe in a tough formation consisting of a combination of hard, solid rock with cobble. The hole, already opened to 30”, required an aggressive tooling solution to finish the job.
2: Rig. Countering the need for an aggressive—and heavy—42-inch diameter tool, the contractor communicated a concern that the rig conducting the bore (a Vermeer D60x90) would be unable to effectively handle the rotational mass of an aggressive, large-diameter reamer.
Solution: Based on the soil condition and hole diameter, a stacked-plate All-Terrain tool was identified as the ideal solution to handle the final ream. However, the team made several modifications to ensure the tool was aligned with the capabilities of Vermeer 60×90.
The team started by shortening the tool’s length by 18 segments (27-inches of overall length) to remove weight and allow the reamer to cut within the diameter of the existing hole. A containment cap and gusset were installed on the leading segment to facilitate moving spoils to the cutting diameter. To reduce pullback torque requirements, the team combined precision cutter geometry with several additional rows of teeth on the compaction face—all designed to cut independent paths.
Four days after the customer signed off on the design, a custom reamer was delivered to the job site by the StraightLine HDD team.
The “slimmed-down” All-Terrain still tipped the scales at 2,630 lbs.
