Atlas Copco’s Dynamic tunneling package is new automation software for face drilling rigs, designed to improve excavation accuracy. The software allows drilling rigs to create their own drill plans directly at the face of the tunnel; no more going back and forth with drill plans is needed, Atlas Copco says.

“Today, in tunneling projects, especially large ones in urban areas, there are differences in the cross section. You go up and down with your drill plans”, says Johan Jonsson, product manager boomer, Atlas Copco. “The Dynamic tunneling package helps you so you don't have to go up and down anymore. The drill plan is made on the drill rig and at the face.”
Atlas Copco’s customer Veidekke used the Dynamic tunneling package for its RV80 project in Bodø, Norway. The project involves work on a state highway.

“There's a tunnel that's two times 2.5 kilometers where we are going to excavate about 500,000 cubic meters of rock”, says Jon-André Nilsen, manager surveying technic underground, Veidekke. “Today, the drill rig operators make niches manually. They can turn out way too big or way too small. Dynamic tunneling package makes our drilling more precise. We can make changes to drill plans directly on the rig. We can move cuts or drill holes. We are more flexible at the tunnel face compared to making all changes at the office.”

Today all tunneling models exist in a 3D model. Operators previously imported the model into Underground manager — an Atlas Copco software used for planning and reporting of drill rig data and information — and then do all the drill plans manually in Underground manager. With Dynamic tunneling package drillers still import the 3D model, but they only need to set up a set of rules (a rules file) in Underground manager.

The set of rules and the 3D model is then brought to the drill rig by USB or WiFi-connection. The drill rig will then make its own drill plans based on where in the tunnel it is navigated and according to the tunnel model.

Atlas Copco, based in Stockholm, serves segments ranging from compressors and air treatment systems to construction, mining and drilling equipment. The company, founded in 1873, has more than 39,800 employees worldwide and operates in more than 170 countries. Atlas Copco in North America operates in more than 109 locations and employs more than 4,500 people in the U.S. For more information, visit www.atlascopco.us.