Drilling and compacting

Arm-mounted drilling module

A drilling module mounted on the end of the dipper arm: a vertical mast along which a drill head slides, and below it a string of rods engaged in the ground. An operator works from a remote station. — The mast holds the axis of the hole:
that is what the auger alone does not have.
Synthetic image.

A mast and a drilling head fitted at the end of the dipper arm.
The excavator does the work of a drilling rig where you would not bring one:
a bank, a narrow platform, a short job.

Other names for this tool: drilling module, excavator-mounted drill mast, add-on drilling kit, arm-mounted drill head.

The essentials

Family: Drilling and compacting
Classes (t): Medium and large
Coupler: All, by plate
Power source: Hydraulic, often more than one circuit — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine

Identify your coupler →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, on a bench in the bank, the drill mast holds the axis of the hole. On the right, an auger alone at the end of the arm drifts and drills crooked. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** on a bench in the bank, the drill mast holds the axis of the hole.
**Right:** an auger alone at the end of the arm drifts and drills crooked.
What sets it apart:
the point lies in the access — and the excavator leaves in the evening with the rest of the site.
Computer-generated image.

**Left:** on a bench in the bank, the drill mast holds the axis of the hole.
**Right:** an auger alone at the end of the arm drifts and drills crooked.
What sets it apart:
the point lies in the access — and the excavator leaves in the evening with the rest of the site.
Computer-generated image.

The module brings what the auger does not have:
a mast that holds the axis of the hole and a head able to work by rotation, or by rotation with percussion depending on what is being drilled through.
It is this percussion that distinguishes rock drilling from drilling in loose ground.

The uses are anchoring, the micropile, the blast hole, the investigation borehole.
The point lies in the access:
an excavator climbs onto a bench or into a slope where a dedicated drilling rig will not go, and it leaves at the end of the day with the rest of the site.

This is the most demanding equipment of this family for the carrier. A mast on the end of the arm is a long, tall, offset mass:
the stability of the machine becomes the main subject, before the hydraulics.
And what is then put into the hole is no longer a matter for the tool nor for us. Let us take stock of your worksite.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

They exist for machines from 9 to 40 t.
For example, on an excavator over 20 t, the weight is generally from 1 610 to 4 000 kg.
It adapts to any quick coupler, via a mounting plate.

What the tool does

Its weight: we calculate it with you for your machine.
For example, on an excavator over 20 t: drilling diameter from 38 to 127 mm.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It works hydraulically, often with more than one circuit.
It generally needs from 60 to 230 l/min, at a pressure from 165 to 270 bar, depending on the size of the machine.
The flow and the pressure: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Figures taken from 7 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Tell us your excavator model, the number of hydraulic lines it has, and what you are drilling:
diameter, depth, inclination, nature of the ground.
Describe the access to the drilling point too.

What we need to answer you

Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
The coupler in place Its system and its class.
The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

04 Choice

What determines the choice

01 — What you are drilling, and why Anchoring, micropile, blast hole, investigation:
the diameter, the depth and the tolerance on the axis are not the same, and that is what points to the module.
02 — Rotation alone or rotation with percussion The first suits loose ground and soft rock;
the second is what is needed in hard rock.
It is the main dividing line of this family.
03 — The removal of the cuttings By air or by water:
air assumes a compressor and produces a cloud, water assumes a supply and produces slurry.
The site settles it, not preference.
04 — The inclination of the holes to be drilled Drilling plumb and drilling at an angle into a slope do not call for the same guidance nor the same stability.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

The number of hydraulic lines available A module calls for more of them than a simple tool.
A photograph of the end of the dipper arm makes it possible to count them.
The stability of the machine on the real ground On a bench, a soft platform or a cross-fall, this is the question that decides feasibility.
Dust and the neighbourhood Air drilling produces a great deal of it.
If it has to be knocked down, the water has to come from somewhere, and that is planned for.
The interface and the fitting time A module is not changed like a bucket.
The time to hitch and to remove it goes into the reckoning of the day.

Drilling in loose ground

Crossing without opening

After the drilling

To go further

Family: Drilling and compacting
Trade: Special foundations
Classes: Excavator from 10 to 20 t
Classes: Excavator over 20 t
Compatibility: The seven criteria in detail →