The Bauer BG range of rotary drilling rigs - The Premium Line concept

At Bauma 2013 BAUER Maschinen GmbH will be launching its new Value Line and Premium Line classification of BG drilling rigs. The Value Line is optimized for kelly drilling. The Premium Line, as the name suggests, is a high-end range incorporating multifunction rigs for a wide variety of applications.

Advertisement

The Premium Line range extends from the BG 12 up to the BG 50. It enables all rotary drilling techniques to be implemented, including kelly drilling with and without a casing oscillator, the classic CFA (continuous flight auger) system and CCFA (cased continuous flight auger) drilling, as well as soil displacement pile drilling. The Premium Line rigs can also be used without problem to carry out all kinds of ground improvement techniques, such as CSM (cutter soil mixing), single or multiple soil mixing, or deep vibration. They can also be fitted with BC trench cutters. This makes the rigs suitable as a platform for all commonly employed specialist foundation engineering techniques, and enables them to adapt to a wide variety of different soil types based on a broad range of tools.

All Premium Line rigs can be fitted with a Tier IV i engine conforming to the highest exhaust emission standards, though a standard Tier II or III engine is still available for all models intended to be used in markets where emissions are not regulated. The base carrier units for the Premium Line are specified to attain the lowest noise emission values in their class. Their specification ensures compliance with the very latest environmental standards.

The main winches for the Premium Line rigs feature high pulling forces and wide drums. A drilling and drawing assist function aids handling in “Single-pass” drilling operations. State-of-the-art electronic systems make the rigs easy to control and highly responsive. The new Bauer B-Tronic Generation 4.1 is an enhanced variant, featuring monitoring of the winch pull and hoisting speed, a torque indicator and error message display as well as a diagnostic assist. The BG Premium Line models are also equipped as standard with the Bauer kelly visualization system, which provides operators with full assistance to ensure the kelly bar is operated optimally and with low wear. A tablet PC with built-in wireless functionality now likewise comes as standard in the new Premium Line cab.

One of the designers' key objectives was to optimize all the safety features. The rigs now incorporate fall guards, an integrated ladder to access the uppercarriage and handrails on all walkways, as well as walk-on platforms on top of the uppercarriage. The service hatches on the side of the uppercarriage are of lift-up design. The counterweight disks can be variably stacked.

Great attention was paid to ease of handling and to optimum health and safety assurance. The rigs enable operators to work in a stress-free environment, without becoming fatigued. A new cab design and state-of-the-art, ergonomic layout provide the ideal degree of visibility for operators. This is also aided by an array of cameras, enabling operations to be monitored on-screen. Rear-view cameras permit operators to monitor the rear end and right-hand side of the rig, and the main winch reel-in is likewise monitored by a camera.