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The Atlas Copco HB10000 is reputed to be the world’s biggest and most powerful volume-manufactured hammer. It weighs 10t and is capable of an impact rate of 380 blows per minute. This is the first one in the UK.
777 Group won the contract for the final clearance of the 1.5 acre site in Woolwich, which was formerly occupied by Peggy Middleton House, a six-storey office block. The office building had already been demolished and removed, but the reinforced concrete foundations remained. With a tight time schedule for completion, sizeable financial penalties for overrunning, and the additional complication of working hour restrictions, speed and efficiency were called for.
To help meet the tight schedule, the company moved its two Hitachi EX1200 excavators to the site. One of these was equipped with a seven cubic metre MST bucket for clearing broken concrete. For breaking the concrete, however, which proved even tougher and deeper than was initially anticipated, the company decided that it needed to equip its second EX1200 with the HB10000 hydraulic hammer attachment.
The hammer broke out more than 50,000 cubic metres of reinforced concrete over a seven week period at the Woolwich site. It could have done the job even more quickly, the contractor said, had it not been decided to recycle 25,000 cubic metres of the concrete and reuse it on site to reduce the amount of primary aggregate needed for the new development.
“The HB10000, powered by the EX1200’s very capable hydraulic power pack, was able to break out the concrete at a truly impressive rate,” said 777 Group business development manager Daryl Pearce. “In fact, there’s little doubt that without it, we would have found it difficult to complete the contract on time. Our HB10000 was a significant investment, but it’s already proved its worth on this project, and it will undoubtedly be an invaluable asset for us on future contracts.”
The Atlas Copco HB10000 hydraulic breaker is suitable for use with carriers in the 85t to 140t class. It has 24-inch pin capable of up to 380 impacts per minute and operates at hydraulic pressures between 160 and 180 bar at flow rates of between 450 and 530 l/min. The breaker incorporates PowerAdept, a protection system that shuts it down if it receives excessive pressure from the carrier, and AutoControl, a monitoring system that allows it to automatically adapt its frequency and power output to match the operating conditions.
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