For the second time ever, the world’s biggest rock breaker is an Indeco Indeco breaks all records with its new HP 18000, the biggest hydraulic breaker in the world. Its sheer size is breathtaking, not to mention its performance, making it the ideal breaker for huge earthworks, primary winning and extra hard rocks.
4.6 metres high, weighing 11,05 tons, it can handle tools with a diameter of up to 250 mm, and has a destructive potential that is far and away the best of any breaker on today’s market. Despite its size, the HP 18000 can also be rapid and versatile, achieving a striking rate of up to 460 blows per minute. That sort of speed is quite incredible when we think how much rock is moved. Compared with other breakers, it has greater hydraulic efficiency, i.e. a better ratio between input and output power, and this leads to greater energy yield.
This has been achieved by introducing new technological systems and improving existing ones throughout the Indeco range.
The new automatic power and speed variation system makes the Indeco giant more sensitive, and so more adaptable to the material it is demolishing.
The CDPS, or Collateral Damage Prevention System, sends a signal to the operator if the breaker is operating in sub-optimal conditions, warning him to stop working so as to prevent any damage. The external regulation system on the casing eliminates any clearance between the breaker and the wear plates within the housing, further reducing any damaging vibrations. Even the housing has been specially reinforced to withstand the huge mechanical stress that a breaker of this size has to deal with.
The mounting bracket is interchangeable with that of the HP 12000, a distinct advantage as the same carrier can now be used for two different breakers.
Other great features, which it has in common with all Indeco breakers, are the centralised greasing system and the tool retainer protection system, which prolongs tool life.
But even more importantly, in such a powerful breaker, is the Indeco range’s ability to carry out its work even under conditions of poor stability. In such cases, the carrier cannot transmit all of its weight to the breaker, or else it means the operator working under conditions of partial visibility, or at a very acute angle, with the breaker working either head-up or head-down. Some typical cases include vertical rockfaces, secondary demolition, underwater or tunnel excavations (head-down) where there is an increased risk of blank firing.
Many manufacturers attempt to limit damage by claiming to have systems to combat blank firing, which often prove ineffective or even damaging. Indeco breakers are so versatile that such extreme conditions are simply an opportunity to prove their reliability – and they manage to work continuously, smoothly, and uninterruptedly. All in all, Indeco’s new champion is living proof of the company’s commitment to coming out with true technological innovations that are both reliable and productive. And that is the record they are most proud of.