Sandvik Innovation Prize 2024 has been awarded to a team from Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions for their excellent work on an innovative thread concept: CT67/CT55.
The winning team consists of Anders Nordberg, Tomas Jansson, Andreas Norman, David Wickström.
The new innovative thread design for top hammer drilling has a cambered profile when viewed from the side. The main benefit with a cambered design is that when subjected to bending it will distribute the load more evenly over the thread, resulting in increased strength of the coupling and drastically reduced wear. The coupling design for the CT system was developed to lower the cost per meter drilled, reduction of coupling breakages, easier usage, premium feeling, and improved safety due to less rod/tube changes and smaller circuit stock in the mine.
“We are very honored to receive the Sandvik Innovation Prize! The long-term R&D work, building and verifying simulation models, forms the basis for the development of this drill concept,” says Anders Nordberg. “Without it, we would not have been even close to this result, and we would not have been able to develop CT55 so rapidly after CT67.”
Recently launched products using the new technologies have shown higher productivity than existing products by as much as 40 percent, depending on local conditions. Such productivity gains are rarely seen in the history of rock tools development, and usually ends up setting new industry standards. The new coupling design brings customers a lower cost per drill-meter, lower fuel consumption (up to 50%), easier usage, premium feeling and improved service life and thereby improved safety due to less rod/tube changes and smaller circuit stock in the mine.
One of the most groundbreaking changes with the CT threads is the reduction of unwanted coupling breakages. Standard tools often crack in unwanted locations, resulting in time-consuming and expensive operations. CT threads, however, fail with small chippings or cracks which are visible to the operator and can be discarded even before such events occur, increasing productivity, reducing tool cost and increasing the safety of the operators. The improved tool lifetime in surface applications allows the operators to spend more time in the cabin and less outside the rig.
“Congratulations to the worthy winners – and indeed, to all those nominated – for the part they have played (and continue to play) in driving innovation across Sandvik,” says Susanne Norgren, Head of Sandvik Scientific Council.
The prize will be handed over by CEO Stefan Widing in a separate ceremony.
