PRESS INFORMATION

Further information: Tel +46 26 262000, Fax +46 26 262039, info.rocktools@sandvik.com

AB Sandvik Tamrock Tools, Marketing Communications, S-811 81 SANDVIKEN, SWEDEN

BENCH DRILLING

New Black Label generation puts best-selling

Sandvik CAPP button bits one more step ahead
No one can dispute that good hole quality, faster penetration rates and longer tool life give
higher productivity and more profitable rock excavation. Sandviks new CAPP Black Label generation of threaded button-bits for bench drilling is designed to make it easier to achieve these
fundamentals.
In the year 2000, Sandvik launched the industrys first
generation of drill-bits ever to be guided all the way from
the design engineers imagination to the customers work
site by a fully integrated computer-aided product
processing (CAPP) system. Judging by sales volumes and
a sharp rise in market share since that time, customers
noticed the difference in CAPP drill-bits in no uncertain
terms. Now, barely three years down the line, the company
is set to demonstrate again how product development in
Sandviken never stops. Having processed feedback from
the field with the tenacity only a robot could sustain, the
Sandvik CAPP system itself now further developed has
fine-tuned the design of CAPP series drill-bits to give the
customer more. Together with new developments in
Sandvik cemented-carbides and manufacturing
technology, says marketing manager Anders von Post, this has increased the performance of the latest generation
of bits to the extent that a new label is warranted to distinguish the old from the new.
New buttons and new body
CAPP Black Label button bits feature a number of subtle but important developments that improve both penetration
rate and service life, and also make the bits easier to regrind. According to Sandviks research and development
manager, Bengt sberg, customers can expect the Black Label generation to give an extra 5 to 15 per cent in overall
performance compared with the original
CAPP series, depending on the rock
conditions. We have optimized the button
geometries for both spherical and ballistic bits
to give better all-round performance, he says.
Coincidentally, the new profiles are also
easier to regrind, which is another small but
positive development. Still in the button zone,
we have made another key change that gives
more clearance between the face of the bit and
the penetrative parts of the buttons. This gives
better flushing and less re-crushing of the
rock, which has a positive effect on both the penetration rate and the service life of the bit. Additionally, on our
regular bit models, we have lengthened the bit head and streamlined the bit body to further optimize both strength
and balance, and this too has influenced overall performance in the right direction.

New grade of cemented carbide makes Sandvik

ballistic bits more universal
Every manufacturers dream is to make one universal product
that does everything perfectly. In reality, however, one has to
contend with a myriad of variables and relationships between
variables when designing a product to perform different
variations of the same task, never mind different tasks altogether.
Rock drilling tools are no exception, since the earths crust is far
from homogenous. Even when rock is homogenous, it is often
cracked and fissured by tectonic or blast forces, and these
variations, too, call for different tools and techniques.
In spite of the vast array of rock conditions, new materials,
improving technology and a greater understanding of the rockdrilling process are making it increasingly feasible to think in
terms of a universal drill-bit. According to Anders von Post, the
CAPP Black Label series of ballistic bits, for instance, is capable of tackling most rock formations encountered in
bench drilling. Our latest ballistic buttons are made of a new grade of cemented carbide called DP55, he says.
Compared with the grade used in the first generation of CAPP ballistic bits, DP55 is tougher in terms of its tenacity
and resistance to cracking. This means that CAPP Black Label ballistic bits can now be used efficiently and
economically in harder rocks with compressive strengths of up to 250 MPa, which makes them pretty universal,
since most of the rocks encountered in bench drilling lie between 100 and 250 MPa. There are other things to be
considered, such as whether the rock formation calls for a flat or drop-centre face, and whether a regular or retrac
skirt is needed. But whatever the case, where it is possible to use a ballistic bit reasonably economically in terms of
bit life, it should always be the first choice, because ballistic bits give a much higher penetration rate and it is the
penetration rate that has the most decisive influence on overall drilling economy.
Bits for all types of rock
To support customers in all eventualities, Sandvik CAPP Black
Label button-bits come in twelve different design combinations
to tackle virtually any type of rock formation. Variables include
the type of button (spherical or ballistic), type of face (flat or
drop-centre) and type of skirt (regular or retrac). Spherical
buttons are recommended for the hardest rocks. The drop-centre
face is recommended for bits with either spherical or ballistic
buttons where there is a risk of deviation. The drop-centre bit
drills a peripheral, annular vanguard a centimetre or two ahead
of the rest of the hole, leaving a pillar of rock in the centre to act
as a guide to keep the drill bit on course. When it comes to bit
skirts, the retrac skirt is the first choice for most conditions,
since it has very good guiding characteristics and drills much
straighter holes. Moreover, it should always be used in
conditions where there is a tendency for the hole wall to collapse
behind the drill bit, since the retrac skirt enables the bit to bore backwards as the drill string is withdrawn from the
hole, and also helps to stabilize the hole wall. The regular skirt is recommended only when it is known for certain
that the rock is both homogenous and competent throughout.
Bits from 51 to 152 mm in diameter
Available in diameters from 51 to 152 mm (2 6 in), and with all popular thread types, the CAPP Black Label series
increases the range of benching applications for todays powerful hydraulic rock-drills. Thanks to Sandvik 60, the
companys new 60-mm tool system, for instance, holes up to 152 mm in diameter can be drilled very quickly and
economically using half the energy of DTH machines. Up to hole depths of around 20 metres, which covers the most
common bench heights in mining and quarrying, hydraulic-tophammer rigs, equipped with the right drilling tools,
are nowadays capable of producing holes of comparable straightness and cleanness to the DTH method in most
conditions. Penetration rates are typically twice that of DTH machines and overall operating costs much lower in
spite of higher drill-string costs, which account for only a small fraction
of the overall cost of drilling. Since CAPP Black Label button-bits can
be drilled harder for longer, they will no doubt deliver added impetus
to the argument in favour of hydraulic tophammers.
AB Sandvik Tamrock Tools. S-811 81 Sandviken, Sweden.
Phone +46 26 26 20 00 Fax +46 26 26 23 00 www.rocktools.sandvik.com