Middle East breakthrough for Atlas Copco

The Middle East`s first Atlas Copco HB 10000 hydraulic breaker has recently been commissioned in Saudi Arabia.

Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia is the first to benefit from the world’s largest commercially available machine of its type.

The HB10000 weighs 10 t and with a single impact blow energy of 16,000 Joules, which can be released at a rate of up to 380 blows a minute.

The high power-to-weight ratio and the in-built EnergyRecovery feature provided by the HB10000 makes it a cost-effective option. Its lower weight and higher efficiency means less hydraulic input power is required from the carrier, while maintaining maximum impact performance.

This allows smaller carriers to be used resulting in significant savings in investment costs. In fact, the HB10000 can run on carriers between 85 to 140 t weight classes. With less input demanded from the hydraulic system, less fuel is needed by the carrier, which results in further lowering operating costs.

Powered by a combination of oil and gas, the HB10000 becomes less dependent from the carriers hydraulic oil supply. This results in 70% of the impact energy being regenerated by the gas in the piston accumulator and only 30% by the hydraulic oil supply of the carrier. In effect the internal control valve is able to convert the hydraulic input into a greater hydraulic output.