Creating the plan for your next project can be complicated. One of the many decisions you have to make is what kind of reamer you&#;ll use when you&#;re opening the borehole and installing the product. There are a lot of reamer options to choose from, and if you aren&#;t asking the right questions, you might arrive at a wrong answer. To help you select the right reamer for your next project, ask and answer these five questions.
The first thing you have to consider is the soil that you&#;ll be working with. Is it sand or clay or rock?
&#;Mixer-style reamers are designed to maintain flow in high-moisture clay and sandy conditions,&#; said Chris Fontana, a lifecycle sales manager at Vermeer. &#;Packer-style reamers are preferred in dryer, compacted soil or loose rock. When harder, consolidated rock is encountered, a range of tools with specialty cutters are available depending on the hardness and consistency of the rock.&#;
For each different soil condition, there is an ideal reamer. For a complete guide to which Vermeer reamer is ideal in each kind of soil, check out our applications guide.
Next, you should be thinking about how big and what kind of product you&#;re installing. After you know the answer to that, you can select your reamer based on the size of the pipe and the material. This is important because reamers can come in a variety of different sizes.
&#;We recommend that your reamer size is at least 1.5 times the widest product pipe pack that you&#;re pulling through,&#; explained Fontana. &#;So, if you&#;re pulling a 4-inch (10.16-cm) product through the hole, you need at least a 6-inch (15.24-cm) reamer.&#;
The length of the project, the type of ground conditions and the allowable bend of the product pipe being installed may require the bore to be opened up beyond the 1.5 times rule. But it&#;s important to note that no matter the size or material you&#;re putting in, reamers can be built to the diameter that you need.
You should also ask yourself if you need to pre-ream. For larger diameter installations, a series of pre-ream stages are likely required to upsize the bore prior to final pullback of the product pipe. It&#;s not possible to go from an 8-inch (20.32-cm) hole to a 30-inch (76.2-cm) hole. Instead, you&#;ll have to do it in segments, which is called pre-reaming.
&#;To do this, you&#;ll want to use a reamer that can smoothly be pushed back out of the hole, with an aggressive taper on the backside,&#; explained Fontana. &#;That way, it doesn&#;t meet resistance when it comes out of the hole.&#;
Vermeer offers two reamers that are tapered for pullback ease: the supreamer reamer and the fluted reamer. While it may be less expensive to have a reamer with a flat back, they may not be able to handle pre-reaming.
A swivel is used to isolate the product pipe from the rotation of the drill stem and is sized based on the pull force estimated to complete the project. Sometimes they are separate components connected by a clevis, while others are integrated into the reamer.
For certain conditions, Fontana suggested an integrated reamer/swivel. &#;Usually, the more space in between your product and your reamer, the greater the inefficiency,&#; said Fontana. &#;For example, say that you&#;re opening a borehole in cobble. After you open the hole, the disrupted soil falls right back in between the reamer and the product. If that happens, it can be tough on the product and potentially split it.&#;
Putting a swivel on your reamer may be a good option to help protect the product being installed.
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Lastly, consider your connection size. Reamers are built on a connection platform that&#;s based on the maximum pullback force and rotational torque of the HDD being used.
For example, if you have a Vermeer D24x40 S3 horizontal directional drill, you&#;ll need a minimum of 2-3/8-inch API on your reamer to withstand the torque and pulling forces from the drill. The thrust/pullback force on a D24x40 is 24,000 pounds (10,900 kg) and the rotational torque is 4,200 ft-lb (5,690 Nm).
For operations that have multiple machines, there&#;s an additional consideration here. &#;If you have a multi-machine fleet, you may want to buy one tool that is compatible between all of your machines,&#; said Fontana. &#;That way, you can use the same reamer or connection on a variety of drills.&#;
Overall, the main thing to remember is to match the connection to the machine.
After you&#;ve asked and answered these five questions, it&#;s time to select the right reamer for your operation. If you have any additional questions, reach out to your local Vermeer dealer today.
Vermeer Corporation reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design and specifications; add improvements; or discontinue manufacturing at any time without notice or obligation. Equipment shown is for illustrative purposes only and may display optional accessories or components specific to their global region. Please contact your local Vermeer dealer for more information on machine specifications.
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Opinions vary on this next part. Some will argue that reamers should made to run perfectly true in the toolholder using a dial indicator and a few gentle nudges with a plastic mallet or piece of brass, which is good advice for any rotary tool. Others suggest that the reamer's going to follow the hole regardless, so a floating toolholder should be used, which allows the reamer to "go its own way.&#; Kennametal's recommendation is to use a floating holder where misalignment is present, but to select a high-quality collet chuck, shrink-fit, or hydraulic toolholder for minimal runout in all other cases. Don't use a drill chuck or side-lock holder.
Opinions also vary when it comes to cutting fluid, but whether your shop uses neat oil, synthetic, or water-soluble emulsion, it should be clean and well-maintained. For those with through-the-tool capabilities, by all means use it, even though this might mean upgrading to a solid carbide or modular-style reamer. That statement holds true for high-pressure coolant (HPC) as well, which can spell the difference between success and failure in many machining applications, reaming included.
There's also the programming to consider. CNC machinists using FANUC or compatible controls (which is most of them) have several options. For CNC lathes, a simple G01 command is all that's needed, feeding into the workpiece at the recommended rate and then retracting with a G00 rapid traverse command or an accelerated feedrate. CNC machining centers can use this same approach, although the G85 or G86 boring cycles are another option. The latter of these stops the spindle when the tool reaches full depth and then rapids out, while G85 feeds in and out at the same feedrate. Experiment with each and see what provides the best results for your application, but in no case should you peck the reamer as you would a non-coolant fed drill.
In no particular order, here are a few other factors to think about when preparing for or troubleshooting your next reaming operation:
There&#;s more. Modifying the reamer&#;s chamfer amount and angle can help address challenging hole conditions and materials, although this must be done in a precise manner using specialized tool grinding equipment. Similarly, it&#;s important to inspect reamers before use. Check for chipping and wear, and replace the tool sooner rather than later. And if you run into trouble, don&#;t hesitate to reach out for help. Kennametal has dozens of metal removal experts available, ready to lend a hand with this and other machining applications.
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