A new generation of machine has been designed and built by Astec Underground/American Augers, with the first model, the Astec DD3238 being sold to Gold Coast-based Global Directional Drilling Services.
The first project undertaken using the DD3238 was to install six 140 mm diameter power ducts under a large pond and wetlands at Beenleigh, on the Gold Coast for Energex.
The total distance of the ducts was approximately 330 metres, which was split in two sections. The soil conditions varied from soft, medium and a 30 metre section of harder shaly grounds.
The Astec was set up on the morning and in the afternoon a pilot bore of 200 metres was completed. The following day, a 600 mm diameter reamer was pulled back making use of the DD3238’s cruise control. Rotation and pullback speeds can be set to operate automatically and remain programmed after the removal of each rod pulled back.
Article continues below…A set of drill rods were pulled back at the same time so they were ready to reconnect to the reamer and attach the bundle of six 140 mm pipes behind. The next backream was completed over the following day with little effort on the machine’s part. The last 130 m similarly went without a problem.
Global Directional Drilling Services are experienced contractors and with careful planning completed the project without any hold ups and without disturbing the environmentally protected area. The Astec DD 3238 more than proved its worth on its first job in Australia.
