Boart Longyear Announces New Driftmaster Series Of Top Hammer Rods And Bits With Unique Thread Profile Designed For Added Endurance And Strength

Boart Longyear announces the launch of its newest top hammer tooling, the DriftMaster series of rods and bits, now available. DriftMaster rods and bits are designed with a unique thread profile for added endurance and strength in the most demanding tunneling, bolting, and drifting applications.

“Global field testing of DriftMaster products has exceeded expectations leading to an extended trial duration, extensive sample size and very positive responses,” said Jeff Hogan, Product Manager for Top Hammer Tooling at Boart Longyear. “Test results from the field strongly aligned with our design goals of significantly improved durability compared to standard threads. Our customers will benefit from increased productivity and lower overall costs.”

For maximum productivity, DriftMaster offers increased strength through stress reduction in two key ways: 1) The tapered profile provides an increased material cross-section at the base of the threads and 2) the asymmetric thread geometry minimizes stress concentrations. The lower stress combined with deep case hardening allows for a significant increase in cyclic load handling capability. More load cycles means more drilling time and more productivity.

Optimizing the load distribution and contact area, the DriftMaster thread geometry is designed to maximize resistance to wear under the harshest drilling conditions. Combined with the wear resistance associated with carburizing heat treatment, the DriftMaster endures the toughest drilling conditions.

To further improve productivity, the tapered thread profile offers superior rod-bit make-up and breakout characteristics for more drilling time.

DriftMaster is being introduced in 35 mm hex cross-sections for use with standard, Retrac, and Straightrac button bits from 43 mm – 64 mm. The initial offering includes dome and pilot reamers – including optional RazorBack, a patented high-productivity back-reaming bit.