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Movax
Robotic: Hydraulic Vibratory Pile Driver
The Need
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Pile sheeting
operations need auxiliary equipment and personnel to complete, while contractors
have been concerned in increasing safety for crews, saving money, and efficiency.
Environment constraints, such as low headroom, and dense soil conditions make the
contractors' concern difficult to achieve in some cases. The introduction of vibratory
pile driving equipment have helped contractors to try accommodating these issues. Yet, the
needs of additional personnel and limitation of 5-10 feet headroom for operation are still
considered as the shortcomings of these methods. |
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The Technology
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Movax is a robotic excavator
mounted hydraulic vibratory pile driver. Its unique robotic articulation and side gripping
ability allows the operator not only to drive and extract sheet piles, but also to pick a
sheet, move it, thread it, and place it. The Movax can pick up a 50-foot sheet without
releasing the sheet during these operations. This ability allows the Movax Robotic to help
increasing crew safety by reducing the need of personnel in the job site. It is possible
to assign only one man to do pile sheeting with the Movax. The Movax Robotic uses very high frequency hydraulic vibrator, 3000
cycles per minute, and has about 55 tons dynamic drive force. It is perfectly mounted on a
20 ton excavator or above. It also takes advantage of the powerful hydraulic of excavator
to add a 15 ton down force. With this power, the Movax can be used to drive sheet piles,
I-beams, and pipes relatively for any type of soil condition
With the full automatic steering and side
grip ability, the excavator automatically corrects the straightness of the sheet pile
during the driving and extracting. When the Movax drives the first pile into the ground,
the distance is put into memory. The 'auto' takes the pile to the right distance near the
guide and sets pile into the upright position. The 'walking' of the pile wall is
eliminated with the side grip and 'auto' steering. The guide directs and the auto drives
the pile straight. Addition to these abilities, the side grip allows the Movax to operate
in a 4-6 inch headroom environment. |
A stell sheet pile is lifted from a stack easily
Superior performance in narrow conditions
and low headroom areas
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The Benefits
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- A side grip allows
for low head clearance.
- Only one man needed
for pile driving operation.
- Semi-auto steering
device for exact pile placement.
- Powered by excavator
hydraulics for true one man control.
- From horizontal to
vertical, Movax Robotic places & drives the pile.
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Status
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The Movax Robotic is
manufactured by Unisto Oy, Finland, and distributed by Hercules Machinery Corporation. The
versatility of this equipment has been proven in a rehabilitation project under bridge,
pile driving inside building, and pile extraction project in Louisville. |
Barriers
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While the Movax may reduce the
need of personnel on the job site to assist the pile sheeting operation, more technical
skill is needed for the excavator operator to perform the operation. |
Points of Contact
- Mike Downs, Hercules Machinery Corporation,
3101 New Haven Avenue, P.O. Box 5198, Fort Wayne, IN 46895, Phone: (800) 348-1890, (219)
424-0405, Fax: (219) 422-2040, E-mail:drf1599@ctlnet.com
References
- "Movax SP50D", Video Presentation,
Hercules Machinery Corporation.
Disclaimer Statement
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Neither the Construction
Industry Institute nor Purdue University in any way endorses this
technology or represents
that the information presented can be relied upon without further investigation. |
MA22
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