Core drilling is one of the most cost effective ways to create openings for pipe and conduit up to 60 inches in diameter.
Core drilling techniques are used when precise, circular cuts are needed. Holes of almost any diameter are easily drilled to make openings for plumbing, electrical and HVAC installations.
A core drill bit consists of a steel tube with diamond segments brazed or laser welded on the drilling end. The core bits are mounted on the rotating shaft of various types of drilling machines. Core drills can be operated in any orientation, vertical or horizontal. Core drill machines can be powered by electric, hydraulic or air power sources. Core drill bits can range in diameter from 1/2 - 60 inches (13 - 1524 mm) and drilling depths are virtually unlimited with the barrel extensions.
Diamond Drilling Operators have:
- cored an 18 inch hole horizontally through 66 feet of gypsum.
- drilled 4 inch vertical cores through 48 feet of solid concrete.
- drilled 54 inch diameter cores through 48 inch walls.
These projects utilizing core drilling demonstrated the advantages of today's diamond tool cutting techniques as used by a professional CSDA cutting contractor.
Project Profiles:
Hydro-Electric Dams
During the summers if 1994 and 1995, Diamond Drilling was selected to core holes for exploratory analysis in old hydroelectric dams throughout Northern lower Michigan. Working closely with the engineers, Diamond Drilling cored many 4-inch and 6-inch diameter vertical holes through 40-60 feet of concrete. The reason for the holes, was to determine the integrity of the concrete in these old structures. In each core all the concrete needed to be retrieved in order for compression tests to be accurate. This information was then used to determine what type and to what extent the renovation should be. This was required in order for the energy companies to receive their new operator's license.
Gypsum Mines
Another unusual project Diamond Drilling was involved with was coring 18-inch diameter holes through 66 feet of solid gypsum rock. The location of the job was 55 feet in a natural underground storage area. This gypsum mine had many different areas of storage and needed more room for expansion so they required our services to give them access to this new area. This hole permitted the contractor to begin breaking the rest of the wall. |
