Roadheader

A roadheader, also called a boom-type roadheader, road header machine, road header or just header machine, is a piece of excavating equipment consisting of a boom-mounted cutting head, a loading device usually involving a conveyor, and a crawler travelling track to move the entire machine forward into the rock face.cite news
author = Dr. Helmut Schneider
title = Criteria for Selecting a Boom-Type Roadheader
work = Mining Magazine
publisher = The Mining Journal, Ltd
page = 183
date = 1988-09
language = English]

The cutting head can be a general purpose rotating drum mounted in line or perpendicular to the boom, or can be special function heads such as jack-hammer like spikes, compression fracture micro-wheel heads like those on larger Tunnel Boring Machines, a slicer head like a gigantic chain saw for dicing up rock, or simple jaw-like buckets of traditional excavators.cite web
url = http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/tunnel/qa.htm
title = Tunnel Virtual Team - Questions and Answers from Ask the Expert
accessdate = 2006-09-15
date = 2006-08-01
publisher = US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration
language = English]

Roadheader History

The first roadheader patent was applied for by Dr. Z. Ajtay in Hungary, in 1949.

Roadheader Uses

Roadheaders are used in tunneling both for mining and municipal government projects, in building Wine Caves, and to build Cave Homes such as those found in the Coober Pedy area of Australia.

Projects Utilizing Roadheaders

* Boston's Big Digcite web
url = http://www.masspike.com/bigdig/background/tjacking.html
title = MTA - Tunnel Jacking
accessdate = 2006-09-15
publisher = Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
language = English]
* Ground Zero Cleanupcite news
url = http://newyork.construction.com/features/archive/2003/0307_Cover2.asp
title = Reconstruction : Port Authority on Schedule with Restoration of PATH Service
date = 2003-07
publisher = McGraw_Hill CONSTRUCTION
work = New York Construction
accessdate = 2006-09-15
language = English]
* Addison Airport Tunnel Projectcite web
url = http://www.auca.org/month/project0998.html
title = American Underground-Construction Association's Featured Project
date = 1998-09
publisher = American Underground Construction Association
accessdate = 2006-09-15
language = English]

Roadheader Manufacturers

* Anderson Strathclyde
* Anshan Powerful Heavy Industry [http://www.anshanhongqi.com/]
* Dosco Overseas Engineering [http://www.dosco.co.uk/]
* Eickhoff Bergbautechnik [http://www.eickhoff-bochum.de/]
* Mitsui Miike [http://www.mitsuimiike.co.jp/product/doboku/kuse.html]
* Sandvik [http://www.miningandconstruction.sandvik.com/]
* Yasinovatskiy Machine Building Plant [http://www.jscymz.com/]

External links

* [http://radio.weblogs.com/0119080/stories/2003/05/30/galleryLivingDownUnder.html] - An article on underground home design and construction, with a section on use of roadheader machines.
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