The Economic Case 19/2/02 11:14 am Page 20
TALKING TECHNICALLY
The Economic Case for Bit
Grinding
Cutting Hole
Costs
The button bit was originally
developed to do the job of an
insert bit, without the necessity for
frequent grinding. However, it was
soon found that the service life of a
button bit increased considerably
if the cemented carbide buttons
were ground.
Nowadays, it has become ex-
tremely important to grind button
bits at proper intervals, in order to
extend the service life of the rock-
drilling tool, maintain penetration
rates, and drill straight holes.
In all rock excavation opera-
tions, the cost is usually expressed
in cost per drilled metre (cost/dm),
in cost per cubic metre (cost/cu m),
or in cost per ton.
The cost to produce a hole
depends on how fast it can be
drilled, and how many tools will be
consumed. The cost to produce a
cubic metre of rock is dependent
upon the cost of the hole, and the
cost of blasting. If the blast hole is
of poor quality, then more explo-
sives will be consumed in blasting
the rock. Unsharpened bits very
often give a poor quality hole with
deviation.
Grinding constitutes around
2% of the costs of the entire
drilling operation. To run the
business without grinding could
multiply this cost, with up to
100% added when production
losses are taken into account.
Labour and material are the high-
est costs, while the machine
investment cost is low when utili-
sation is high, with a large
number of bits to be ground.
Grinding Methods
There are two different methods of bit
grinding to restore the buttons. The
preferred method uses a diamond
coated profiled wheel, and the other, a
grinding cup.
The profiled wheel provides a smooth
and efficient grinding operation, which,
20
The Secoroc Grind Matic BQ2 grinding
machine can handle drillbits up to 127 mm
in diameter
throughout its life, maintains the
correct button shape and protrusion.
It features correct centering on all
buttons, producing a high quality
cemented carbide surface with no risk
of cemented carbide nipple. Long bit
life, and higher penetration rates, will
result from good grinding quality.
Disadvantages of using the grinding
cup are that it may produce an incor-
rect button shape and protrusion. It is
difficult to centre the grinding cup
over the gauge button, and there is
also a risk of producing a sharp
cemented carbide nipple on the
button, and a possibility of scratches
due to the larger diamond grain used.
Reduced bit life will result from poor
grinding quality.
Several tests have been carried out
to find which method gives the best
bit performance. The grinding wheel
gives the correct shape to the button,
regardless of the amount of wear on
the wheel, ensuring that the bit will
achieve standard penetration rate
throughout its entire life. It has also
been shown that bit life is increased
considerably when grinding wheels are
used, rather than grinding cups.
Wheels also excavate steel around
the button, simplifying the grinding
task, and giving the bit a more exact
profile.
Bit Life
With so many parameters involved, it
is difficult to estimate bit service life.
First a proper grinding interval must
be established, preferably at the stage
when the button has a wear flat of one
third of the button diameter. When
the number of drilled metres to reach
this stage has been established, then a
calculation of bit life can be made by
multiplying by the number of times it
can be reground. As a general rule, a
bit can be reground 10 times, but
smaller bits may achieve slightly less
than this figure, while larger bits may
achieve more. So, if the grinding inter-
val has been established as 60 drill
metres, then the average bit life will be
660 drill metres (diagram 1).
If a bit is overdrilled, and the wear
flat is more than half of the button
diameter, there is a tendency towards
Diagram 1: Typical bit life grinding at
different intervals.
Total bit life
700
drill metres
600
10 regrindings
500 per drill bit
400
300
200
100
Grinding interval
drill metres
0
10 20 30 40 50 60
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The Economic Case 19/2/02 11:15 am Page 21
% life
100
Button wear vs bit life
80
60
40
20
0 If the holes deviate, the slope walls will
1/3 1/2
Diagram 2: Risk of total loss when a bit is
overdrilled.
cracked buttons. There is always a
sharp edge created on the button, and
this becomes sharper the more the bit
is overdrilled. This sharp edge, espe-
cially on ballistic buttons, is very
brittle. Once the edge cracks, pieces of
cemented carbide break away and cir-
culate in the hole, causing secondary
damage close to the buttons.
When a bit doesn’t show any visible
wear flat, it may be suffering from
Diagram 3: Penetration rate drops as the
button profiles flatten.
Button wear vs penetration rate
Penetration rate
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Hard
rock
Soft
rock
2/3 Wear flat
micro cracks on the cemented carbide
surface. This is known colloquially as
snake skin, and can be clearly seen
when using a magnifier. In this case,
the surface has to be ground away,
otherwise the micro cracks lead to
more severe damage on the buttons.
Likewise, buttons which protrude too
much must be ground down to avoid
damage (diagram 2).
Penetration Rate
When the right bit has been chosen for
the rock condition, it will provide maxi-
mum penetration rate along with
acceptable hole straightness. In rock
conditions like Swedish granite, with
a compressive strength of around
Wear flat
TALKING TECHNICALLY
2,200 bar, the bit gets a wear flat after
just 10-20 drill metres, accompanied
by a small drop in penetration rate.
When it has a wear flat equivalent to
one third of the button diameter, the
penetration will have dropped by 5%.
If the bit is used further until it has a
two thirds wear flat, the penetration
will have dropped more than 30%
(diagram 3).
When a bit has a heavy wear flat it
tends to deviate, and, by the time it
reaches the bottom of the hole, it will
have deviated far more than planned.
As a result, the blast will produce
coarse fragmentation, and much sec-
ondary blasting may be required. In
slope hole drilling, it is of utmost
importance that the holes are straight.
be uneven, making rock reinforcement
more difficult than expected.
Rock formations with different
layers and joints are often charac-
terised by heavy hole deviation,
putting extra stress on the remaining
rock tools in the drill string. A
sharp bit always cuts better, and
will prevent both deviation and its
disadvantages.
Grinding Machines
Two parameters guide the selection of
the right grinding machine: the
number of bits to be ground; and
whether the machine should be
portable or stationary. Several kinds of
grinding machines are available to
satisfy these parameters. In most cases,
a simple machine will suffice for a small
operation grinding only a few bits. The
semi-automatic machines are more
suitable for larger operations, such as
mines and construction sites, where
the machine can be stationary, and the
rock tools can be brought to it.
Grind Matic HG is a water or air-
cooled hand held machine for grind-
ing cups. Both spherical and ballistic
cups are available. The machine is
driven by up to 7 bar compressed air,
and is suitable for a small grinding
operation.
Grind Matic Manual B is an air-
driven portable grinder using diamond-
coated grinding wheels for spherical
and ballistic buttons. The machine is
mounted in a box fitted with wheels
and handles for easy set up. It is
mainly for threaded button bits, but
small down-the-hole bits can be
ground in this machine. A steel spring
is mounted in the profile of the
grinding wheel, where it functions as a
centering device, allowing for easy
grinding.
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The Economic Case 19/2/02 11:15 am Page 22

TALKING TECHNICALLY

In addition, the machine’s unique

9
diamond grinding wheel is designed
to ensure even wear on its grinding
8 surface while still retaining its profile.
7 This, in turn, guarantees the button
Labour cost shape throughout the life of the wheel.
6 According to Secoroc, it is the only
Grinding material cost
5 solution able to consistently deliver
Machine cost perfectly shaped buttons.
4

3 Case Study
2
Annual grinding volume – buttons. Figures At Inmet Mining’s Troilus operation in
1
on the left side of the diagram show cost per
north-western Quebec, managers were
0
frustrated by a lack of consistency in
button in SEK.
drilling costs. On investigation,
5 000

10 000

25 000

50 000

75 000

100 000

it was established that their drill

Cost of grinding reduces dramatically with
volume.
Grind Matic Manual B-DTH is simi-
lar to the Grind Matic Manual B. It is
mainly intended for down-the-hole
bits, but can also be used for threaded
bits with a special bit holder. As an
optional accessory, the machine can
be equipped with a belt grinder for
gauge grinding.
Grind Matic BQ2 is the latest semi-
automatic machine, with many fea-
Secoroc Grind Matic BQ-DTH.
tures such as auto-indexing device,
timer control, automatic feed, and an
automatic centering arm. These fea-
tures, coupled to an ergonomic
design, ensure high productivity, and
the machine is designed to handle
large volumes of threaded button bits.
Cooling water is recycled after the
waste product has been separated in a
container.
Grind Matic BQ2-DTH is the latest
grinding machine for mainly down-
the-hole and Coprod bits. It can also
be used for threaded bits with a
special bit holder. The machine has
the same features as Grind Matic
BQ2, and can grind bits up to
7 in-diameter.
Secoroc grinding wheel Typical grinding cup
bits were being over-used, and not
correctly ground.
Secoroc Canada was asked to
advise on the best means to achieve
maximum performance from the drill
bits. They helped set up a properly
ventilated and laid out workshop for
grinding, using a GrindMatic B-DTH,
and then trained Inmet staff in sharp-
ening and bit shop practice. A fresh set
of 72 drill bits was introduced, and
each miner was given 15 bits to track
progress. The results were impressive,
yielding a 20% improvement in bit
life, from around 520 m, to more
than 625 m.
Atlas Copco has been aware of this
situation for years, but this is the first
time that comprehensive evidence has
proved that correct grinding, particu-
larly in these days of cost conscious-
ness and fierce competition, can make
a world of difference to the bottom
line.

by Bo Persson
New

Grind Matic Manual B-DTH.

Half worn

Worn out

Loss of button profile

and protrusion due
to worn out grinding cup

The Grind Matic machine’s secret

of success is that both the grinding
table and the diamond grinding
wheel rotate. The result is perfectly
ground button surfaces, regardless of
whether the buttons are spherical or
ballistic.

22 SURFACE DRILLING