As sheet pile driving continues to be one of the cornerstones of marine civils operations, a new long reach system is claimed to be about to revolutionise thousands of projects.
In anticipation of the arrival of its disruptive and unique, long-teach telescopic leader rig, the TM 20 LR, UK specialist sheet piling expert, Sheet Piling (UK) Ltd, is whetting the appetite of various Tier-1 construction and engineering contractors, by issuing an in-depth explanatory animated video of the rig that is set to revolutionise their project methodologies.
The TM 20 LR builds on the unique facets of the TM 12/15 LR, extending that rig’s benefits still further and including various enhancements. This ‘big daddy’ of telescopic leader rigs boasts the same 8.1m horizontal reach, from the centre of the machine to the pile line but has a maximum driven or extracted pile length of 20 metres, rather than 16 metres. The maximum below-platform driving depth is 3.4m and the rig comes with a powerful MRZV-30VV, variable moment, variable frequency vibratory hammer, with hydraulic rapid-charging docking station.
A heavy-duty, hydraulically extendable undercarriage has a unique infrastructure mode that enables the machine to operate to a reduced footprint in restricted areas. 900mm-wide trackpads reduce ground-bearing pressure and additional vertically stacked counterweights enhance its stability.
Its Euro Stage-V engine is fully environmentally compliant, whilst a state-of-the-art Sennebogen and F-series base carrier, has a bespoke boom hinge, for long-reach capability. When operating in long-reach mode, the TM 20 has a maximum load capacity of ten tons and a maximum crowd and extraction force of 180kN.
A 5-minute instructive video is available at https://youtu.be/nHqH0PcFUq4
The animated video explains how the massive success of the TM 12/15 LR, and its own clear advantages over any other leader rig in the market, have paved the way for the TM 20 LR. This is another rig manufactured exclusively for Sheet Piling UK, by the world’s leading rig manufacturer, ABI Group, as the sheet piling specialist continues its mission to deliver innovative and best-value solutions for its construction and civil engineering clients.
The video homes in on four core sectors, one of which is ports and harbours, where the claim is that the TM 20 LR promises to remove any need for enabling works or the creation of temporary structures built solely to facilitate sheet pile-driving.
By Jake Frith