Pilot Tube/Guided Auger Boring

Auger boring machines from ICON offer the latest advances in tunnel boring and directional boring equipment found anywhere!

No matter what your requirements are for auger boring, ICON offers a tunnel boring machine or the directional boring equipment to make it happen. Our in-house Rental and Sales Distribution Department will help you choose, buy, lease or rent the right directional boring machines for any project. For special applications, our in-house Engineering Department is ready and able to design a custom system or suggest the right solution and our Field Technicians are available for comprehensive, on-site project assistance. ICON auger boring experts will accompany the delivery of all scheduled ICON equipment to a jobsite to supervise and oversee assembly of boring machines, provide training, site-specific engineering solutions and assist through project completion. Types of auger boring machines include:

• Unguided Drilling (models BM150, BM400L, BM500, BM600L, BM800L)

Protective steel piping is jacked into the ground from a launch shaft correctly constructed and adjusted to the heading forces involved. The auger boring head loosens the earth at the drill head, which is then conveyed back to the launch shaft by the auger. In case of non-guided auger boring, the exact alignment of the machine is more important. The longer the jacking shaft, the more accurate the borehole, as it is possible to work with longer casings. When auger boring operations are used to establish connections from a launch shaft to a target shaft (open - open), the product pipes, which are the same diameter, push out the steel casings containing the auger sections. The casings - auger sections are then stored for use on the next drive.

• Guided Drilling with Pilot (models BM400, BM400L, BM500, BM600L, BM800L)

Assisted by pilot pipes equipped with optical passage, steering head, and Theodolite with CCD camera and monitor, open-open guided auger boring operations can be carried out in easily displaceable soil. The pilot pipe is pushed through the ground towards the target shaft while the CCD camera monitors the direction throughout the whole process. The direction of the head is adjusted by rotating the pilot pipes to guide the "slanted" head to the "cross hair" image on the guidance monitor.

• Guided with Steering Auger (models BM400L, BM500, BM600L)

For larger auger boring projects, the use of directional boring machines that employ a steerable auger is recommended. The auger drill tool has a slanted lead section, which houses a diode target. As with the pilot bore method, an optical passage through the auger sections allows the Theodolite CCD camera to monitor the deviation of the head from the intended bore axis. At the end of the guided bore sequence, the product pipes, which have the same outer diameter as the casings - auger sections, will be pushed through. Larger product pipes may be used after the bore has been enlarged using a reamer tool for product pipes of a larger diameter.

• Dead End Drilling (models BM150D, BM400)

In the case of a dead end auger boring, after the target point has been reached and the augers withdrawn, the smaller diameter product piping is pushed into the steel casings. Once installed, the smaller product pipes are held in position while the steel casings are retracted back into the starting shaft where they are removed and stored ready for the next bore. Depending on the accuracy required, this process can be either non-guided or guided.

Call ICON’s corporate headquarters now at 800-836-5011 or click here to contact us immediately. A directional boring equipment engineer will get back to you within one business day.