When Raco Concrete wanted a more powerful, yet compact machine, owner David Raco found an ideal solution by adopting a team approach.
“Most of our work involves drilling for residential pylons; however our construction customers also need footings and small trenches and dropped edge beams dug. A typical eight tonne machine that has the hydraulic flow we need is too large and awkward to handle many of these sites”, said David.
“We had previously operated several Takeuchi excavators with hydraulic auger drives, however we needed a machine that was sufficiently powerful to drill through any material, while maintaining manoeuvrability on small sites. Minimal track impact was also a major requirement.
“On occasions, our five tonne machine just didn’t have the power to deal with some material, with the result that some jobs were lost. A solution was presented when Semco released the 5.6 tonne Takeuchi TB260 excavator that is capable of delivering up to 102l/pm at the push of a button, with a relief pressure of 206 bar (3,000 psi), which was close to the level we required.
“TEBCO’s sales manager Eddy Davis was very helpful in letting us hire the latest model hydraulic auger drive for trials with the TB260. Testing on job sites proved what we needed, an increase in drill speed, as well as and increase in drilling torque.
“The next step involved the technicians at Semco, working with the people from TEBCO, making some fine adjustments to the flow settings on theTB260.
“Using the TEBCO TEBDrive 2500 auger drive system as well as their unique augers, enables us to drill far more accurately and neatly. There’s no pressure loss under load and best of all, no cavitation when shaking the dirt off at high speed. With the combination of the power and longer boom of the TB260 excavator and the TEBDrive hydraulic auger drive, we have a truly fine-tuned combination, are saving about half the time in drilling, and haven’t lost a job”, said David.
Eddy Davis said the TEBDrive hydraulic auger drive has no gearbox, with the result that it operates at 99.9 percent efficiency, compared with gearbox driven auger drives. Its hydraulic constant drive system incorporates a robust hydraulic cam roller motor with a specially designed manifold and no moving parts. It can take abuse that no other auger drive can.
“As long as the machine and the hydraulic circuit are well maintained, the auger drive will keep on working efficiently for a long time,” said Eddy.
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