High-Safety Special Tools of Sandvik HLX5T Rock Drill in Austria

The HLX5T is a heavier and higher-pressure drifter than development machines, and its service tooling requirements reflect that. At Wolfram Bergbau's Mittersill tungsten mine in the Austrian Alps—where HLX5T rigs drill production longholes in hard scheelite-bearing skarn at 160–200 MPa UCS—the special service tool kit must cover three categories of risk that don't apply to development drifter servicing: the higher spring preload in the percussion module that requires a greater spring compression force during module removal; the larger-diameter high-pressure accumulators with higher pre-charge nitrogen pressure (70–90 bar) that require accurate charging gauges at the upper end of the calibration range; and the heavier T51/GT60 shank adapters that require dedicated handling tools to prevent the shoulder impact damage that dropped heavy shanks cause to the front housing bore face.

High-safety specification means the tool kit prevents the injury and component damage events that occur specifically when HLX5T service is attempted without the correct tools. The most serious: an HLX5T percussion module released without the compression tool has a spring preload of 800–1,200 N that propels the module backward into the technician or the wall at a velocity high enough to cause serious injury or weld fracture at the mounting interface.

HLX5T Special Tool Requirements for Austrian Alpine Mine Service

Austrian Arbeitsinspektorat audit teams at Mittersill have specifically requested documentation that the percussion module spring compression tool is rated for the HLX5T's spring preload—not just a development tool that may be 40% underrated for the heavy percussion module spring. HOVOO supplies HLX5T-specific special tool kits with spring compression tools rated to 1,400 N and calibrated HP accumulator gauges for Austrian mining safety requirements. References at hovooseal.com.