Poclain Data Science Team Enhances Drillto Horizontal Directional Drill Performance

Drillto, a China-based horizontal directional drill manufacturer using Poclain motors, set out to resolve the vibrations and noise that occurred during gear shifts and at motor startup. They turned to the Poclain Data Science & IoT team - and the results were striking.

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At a time when component sizing and fuel efficiency are under close scrutiny, instrumenting a machine transmission with sensors to analyze its inner workings is an eye opener. Drillto, a China-based horizontal directional drill manufacturer using Poclain motors, set out to resolve the vibrations and noise that occurred during gear shifts and at motor startup. They turned to the Poclain Data Science & IoT team - and the results were striking.

Diving Into the Intricacies of Horizontal Drilling

Horizontal directional drilling is a particularly challenging application, as each phase - thrust, pull back and rod fastening/ unfastening – affects the drill head motors differently. Drillto knows this well. With 25 years of trenchless expertise and a machine offering ranging from 6 to 1200 tons, the OEM has integrated hundreds of Poclain motors into their drillheads. With the goal to optimize their power transmission, Drillto chose to instrument one of their machines, the ZT42, equipped with two-speed MHP 13 motors for drill head rotation.

To ensure an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis, speed, temperature, pressure and position sensors were installed at strategic points on the machine, alongside a dedicated databox which collected and sent the data in real time to Poclain’s Data Science Team.

Off The Radar Issues Revealed

Data was collected over three months, then cleaned up of irrelevant readings, and broken down to identify patterns for each drilling phase. The Data Science Team’s analysis revealed that there were pressure and temperature peaks when the machine was operating in extreme conditions.

Armed with these insights, Poclain’s Data Science team traced the root cause of the vibrations and noise.
These findings are now enabling Drillto to fine-tune its transmission components and settings—boosting efficiency and reducing the drill’s carbon footprint. Poclain’s Data Science & IoT team can support OEMs in their transition to e-vehicles, pre-production troubleshooting and performance enhancing developments.

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