Philippi-Hagenbuch, a company long noted for its haul-truck tailgates and specialty bodies, announced an innovative new cutting system at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2014— the Rolling Wedge Cutter. The new patent-pending cutting system is the invention of LeRoy Hagenbuch, P.E., who says that the cutting technology embodied in the Rolling Wedge Cutter "could dramatically improve material trenching and mining processes, while improving cut size and reducing dust (coal) by as much as 50 percent."
The Rolling Wedge Cutter, says the company, is a solution for trenching and mining in challenging environments, and is designed for use both in above-ground and under-ground applications. According to Philippi-Hagenbuch, the Rolling Wedge Cutter "can create time efficiencies and accomplish techniques that were previously thought very difficult, and in some cases, unachievable."
The greatest benefit of using the Rolling Wedge Cutter, says the company, is that "60-70 percent less energy is required to roll material out in tension, compared with the sheer, brute force required to take materials past their compressive strength. Instead of blasting material apart by exceeding its compressive strength through brute force (which has been the traditional method), the Rolling Wedge Cutter places material in tension and pulls it apart by overcoming the material’s tensile strength. When placed in tension, material such as concrete has just one-fifth the tensile strength of its compressive strength."
The fundamental cutting principles involved, says the company, allows the Rolling Wedge Cutter to trench or mine through difficult materials such as concrete, concrete with rebar, frozen ground, and pavement.
"The cutting system causes less disruption to the ground underneath streets and roadways than backhoes and jackhammers that force their way through pavement," says Hagenbuch. "It eliminates the need to wait for the ground to thaw, by allowing users to trench or cut through materials without jackhammers, saws or other cutting devices. And users who want to break up a chunk of concrete can just drill a small hole and drive in a Rolling Wedge Cutter."
The Rolling Wedge Cutter, designed to adapt easily to many makes and models of trenchers and mining equipment, is made of hardened steel and is available in various sizes, from 0.75- to 9-inch diameters. Optional tips are available to meet specific project needs, and the company is currently developing specific cutters for specific cutting applications. Trench width dictates the total number of cutters required.
