Those who work in the works know that speed is as important as quality, and that a seemingly cheaper solution can be a boomerang, if it involves more complexity and therefore time to run.

Speaking of anchors, in addition to the choice of more robust systems that reduce the depth of fixing – and hence the laying time – you can further optimize the operation by changing the installation mode.

We have considered the attachment of 100 anchoring plates, each consisting of 4 M24 diameter metal plugs and 160 mm depth, with pure HIT-RE 500 V3 epoxy anchor.

For the installation of the anchor on C25 / 30 concrete we have measured the time required for two different types of installation …

  • Laying with the traditional manual cleaning method, which uses the use of a 4-blade punch tip for the hole making, a “blower” and a powder-duster brush.
  • Laying with the automatic cleaning system. In this case, a hollow drill bit is used, which, during the execution of the hole, draws the generated dust without the need to intervene later with blowing and brushing.

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By using the automatic cleaning system it was possible to reduce the installation time (- 4 hours of manpower) by 30% compared to the traditional method. Let’s see how …

Perforation: 10% less time with the automatic cleaning system
The automatic cleaning system was saved 40 minutes (10% less than the first method). The advantage in this case is given by the “cooling” of the hollow edge cutting edges given by the suction which allows for better durability and performance of the tip itself.

Cleaning the hole takes time, if done well
It is certainly the most important step of the installation, if we consider that an anchor can lose up to 70% of the resistance if it is laid on a dirty hole (unless unbalanced borehole torque control systems are used HIT-Z). With the traditional method, brushing and blasting required 215 minutes (about 30 seconds per fixing point). The automatic cleaning system does not require this step, as the powder is directly aspirated during the hole making, thus saving about 3.5 hours.

Resin and Bar Laying Resin
injection and bar insertion required 112 minutes (about 15 seconds per fixing point).

Comparison of the Two Installation Methods
The total time for installing the 400 anchors with the traditional method was 727 minutes (about 12 hours, about 2 hours), with the three phases (drilling, hole cleaning and laying) minutes per fixing point). With the automatic cleaning system the required time was 472 minutes, or about 8 hours (1.5 minutes per single dowel).