The Effective & Efficient D20 Rockwheel Saves Time & Money

At a jobsite in Assamstadt (Germany) the company Schwarz GmbH from Stachenhausen used a Rockwheel rotary drum cutter for the very first time.

The project in Assamstadt involved the expansion of a storage building for a woodworking company.   Foreman Oswald Lienhardt needed to accurately cut a trench to a specific width so decided to use a Rockwheel D20 with its 100 cm drum width to achieve the desired dimension.

Jochen Palinkas, operated the Rockwheel efficiently through the layered rock soil.  Both operator and foreman were extremely satisfied with the outcome and the performance of the Rockwheel and indicated they will be using it more often in the future.

Before using a Rockwheel, Schwarz GmbH used a hydraulic hammer as well as a ripper tooth for excavation and trenching. Using these attachments for this kind of work creates a funnel shaped trench, which often leads to and significant filling work on the sidewalls. Instead of ripping or breaking the rock the Rockwheel cuts through the material and leaves an even sidewall structure, working 3-5 times faster than a ripper tooth or a hydraulic hammer.
Another advantage of the Rockwheel is the low noise and low vibration level so  it can be used in residential areas without causing significant nuisance for the neighbourhood.

The construction team found the precision and quality of the outcome particularly impressive. “With the Rockwheel I can mill off just 1 cm if required “, said  Jochen Palinkas . Approximately 480 m of trenching was completed with the Rockwheel D20 in the layered clay rock soil. “Another great advantage of the Rockwheel is the reusable excavated material“, says Oswald Lienhardt. “It is almost like gravel and can be used to back-fill the trench later.”

The costly disposal of the excavated materials produced by a ripper tooth or a hydraulic hammer is a thing of the past with the Rockwheel rotary drum cutter.

The Rockwheel leaves a consistently small-sized grain similar to gravel, which can be used directly for refilling the trench.  When solidifying the soil the even consistency of the material plays an important role in preventing bumps or sink holes in  the surface once the ground settles.