Deep drilling rig with energy chains according to explosion proof regulations

A leap in automation is also imminent in energy production and exploration. Nowhere is this more evident than in Schrobenhausen, north of Munich. There, on the factory premises of Bauer Maschinen GmbH, the prototype of the TBA 440 M2 deep drilling system is at work. The manufacturer, a world-renowned specialist in deep drilling technology, describes the system as compact - which suggests that everything in the "oil & gas" industry is a little bigger than in other industries. After all, the TBA 440 M2 occupies an area of 25 by 15 metres and the drilling unit's mast rises 44 metres into the air. "Based on the market requirements for maximum safety, increased efficiency and productivity as well as environmental protection, Bauer utilised its many years of experience to develop a new generation of automated deep drilling rigs with the TBA 440 M2," explains Ulrich Schöpf, Sales Director Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific at Bauer Deep Drilling GmbH.
Measured against the performance of the rig, however, this space requirement is actually small. This is because the system can penetrate to a depth of 6000 metres - and unlike conventional deep drilling rigs, it has all the drill rods for this task on board. In addition, the system is largely automated. A "pipe handler" is docked directly onto the actual drilling rig: a handling system that automatically removes drill rods up to 19 metres long from a kind of "high rack" and places them in the borehole. Dipl.-Ing. Thomas Huber, design engineer at Bauer and involved in the development of the TBA 440 M2: "We have realised the first pipe handler with fully automated handling of the drill rods." The gripper, which is attached to a mast system, moves to one of the vertical or slightly inclined rods, grips it hydraulically and positions it precisely at the transfer point. The gripper mechanism is so flexible that it can securely grip pipes with a diameter of 2 3/8 to 9 ½ inches and position pipes weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.

One of the tasks that the designers of the "Pipe Handler" had to solve was the energy supply via the mast system to the heavy-duty grab. The engineers opted for a system that is also used in numerous other construction and mining machines. Our E4.80 energy chain is installed on each of the three axes of the handling system. These chains are suitable for outdoor use not only in drilling rigs of various types (earth drilling rigs, pile drivers, rock and tunnel drilling rigs), but also in container cranes and recycling plants, for example. They are built extremely robust and equipped with a double holding mechanism, which ensures a long service life even when filling with stiff and heavy hydraulic hoses.
The chains are suitable for a wide temperature range and - very important for drilling rigs - they are insensitive to vibrations. This is ensured by the "rear grip" - a design feature that creates a particularly strong connection between the chain links in the truest sense of the word. The interlocking chain links also create a dirt-repellent outer contour. The separators subdivide the interior of the chain and ensure organised guidance, even for numerous cables of different sizes. Bauer uses ATEX-compliant electrically conductive energy chains that fulfil the explosion protection regulations - after all, the TBA systems convey high-energy and therefore explosive media. Some of the chains are arranged horizontally, others vertically and achieve travel distances of up to ten metres. They are mainly filled with large hydraulic lines that provide the gripper with the required manoeuvrability and holding force. However, electric and signal cables for sensors, cameras and lighting are also routed via the energy chain to the gripper or to the respective end points of the individual linear axes.