Guidance on core drilling

The German Engineering Federation, VDMA, has published an information brochure entitled Safe Fastening of Core Drilling Equipment, in both English and German, intended to help companies use core drilling equipment to greatest effect.

In order to carry out precise and effective core drilling work, VDMA said the core drilling equipment must be safely fastened to the ground.

However, this task can be made difficult by the complex relationship that exists between the drilling machine and the site conditions.

Due to the fact that the ground is often composed of heterogeneous materials with varying characteristics, dowel manufacturers cannot provide universal data regarding dowel extraction force.

As a result, it is necessary to carry out studies and consult experts before deciding what the most suitable fastening system is for the drilling machine. This process may involve referring back to past experience, co-operating with dowel manufacturers and collating data about all the influencing variables.

“For this reason, we can’t provide users with a universal recipe”, said Helmut Schgeiner from the VDMA, “But what we can do is to offer them for the first time compact information about all essential prerequisites for the safe fastening of a core drilling machine on the construction site which goes beyond the information contained in the operating instructions.”

Taking advantage of the information provided in the brochure was said to require an in-depth knowledge of the field of applied machine and fastening technologies. Manufacturers of core drilling equipment have therefore advised users to have all decisions regarding the method of fastening the equipment on the construction site taken only by adequately trained and instructed personnel.

This project was led by Prof Dr -Ing Detlev Borstell of the University of Koblenz, Germany.

The 21-page brochure can be downloaded from the VDMA website.