Author: Zhou Zhihong,Ma Fei,Zheng Lixia

Atlas.Overview of the development of Atlas Copco's hydraulic rock drills

Since Atlas Copco launched the first generation of hydraulic rock drills in 1973, it has continuously improved and introduced new models.

For example, the launch years of the main models of hydraulic rock drills used for horizontal tunneling are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Launch years of main models of hydraulic rock drills for horizontal tunneling

The introduction of new models does not necessarily mean the elimination of existing models. For example, the COP1238 was launched in 1983 and was produced for 20 years, during which many new models were introduced. Of course, over the past 20 years, the technology of the COP1238 has been continuously improved. The introduction of new models is based on two reasons, both of which work simultaneously:

(1) One reason for introducing new models is to meet the needs of different rock drilling working conditions and different drilling processes, such as models for horizontal tunneling, models for deep hole mining underground, models for open-pit step drilling, etc.

(2) Another reason for introducing new models is due to technological advancements. For example, the COP1238 replaced the COP1038, which is no longer in production, and the COP1132 launched in 2005 replaced the COP1032.