Prior to commencement of the project, the project team had to tackle various geological problems in the desert area. Progress was difficult and halted during selective milling of the 1.4 m wide and 2.5 m deep pipeline in rocky areas because of the need to deal with a transition from pure sand and a mixture of different boulders, some of which were large and sharp-edged.
The milling tools used did not perform as required and within just a short time the tool holders became clogged up with the material, stopped rotating and wore out quickly, so frequent breaks were required to replace the tools. The tool holders were so badly deformed that it was virtually impossible to change them.
Betek was drafted in to solve the problem and successfully provided a user-friendly solution. The tool problems were able to be alleviated quickly by equipping the special milling chain for selective milling of the ‘stone cocktail’ with two different strength tool models from the BKF round shank bit series. The fixing elements were also swapped for Betek S35/22 and were immediately successful in the test. The special tool geometry meant that the tool holders no longer became clogged up with the material, and the milling bits remained able to rotate, dramatically reducing wear.
The special ring locks for the tools, and the matching changing tool, also made handling easy during changes, which meant that part of the project could be completed twice as fast, much to the satisfaction of the team and the client.
