FREEDOM for Drills

Improve drill production and
limit exposure to risks

Industry-leading technology for your mining drills

FLANDERS ARDVARC solutions improve the productivity and accuracy of your drills with solutions to also keep
operators out of harm’s way. ARDVARC solutions can be deployed to a single machine to improve hole position
accuracy or automate an entire fleet with ARDVARC Autonomous. ARDVARC is truly agnostic with solutions that can be
deployed on any OEM’s mining drill.

  • Gains

    In Productivity

    Improve productivity in the toughest conditions with ARDVARC Intelligent Drilling - Collaring

  • Efficiency

    In Operation

    One operator can run multiple drills remotely from a central location away from the pit. Reducing costs with additional productivity.

  • Control

    Risks

    Control risks by allowing drills to be operated from a distance.

FLANDERS in the field

Turning a major machine fire into an innovation opportunity

When a machine fire burned out a blasthole drill, a major mining operation asked FLANDERS to convert it into a fully automated blasthole drill.

Using our pioneering FREEDOM for Drills – ARDVARC control system, proven Allen-Bradley® components, the latest Windows operating system, and state-of-the-art technology for GPS positioning, we did just that. We completed the automation system design, installation, and commissioning in less than two months—while structural repairs proceeded in tandem.

The resulting drill automation system immediately improved drilling accuracy, fragmentation, and production predictability.

With proof of ROI in hand, the operation asked us to upgrade the other thirteen drills in its fleet to our FREEDOM for Drills automation system.

Since then, we have advanced the FREEDOM for Drills – ARDVARC product line to include greater flexibility, making the system configurable for partially automated, one-touch, or fully autonomous operation.

Full automation of one drill delivered productivity gains up to 30%, simply by reducing machine downtime due to blasting operations and shift changes.

 

FREEDOM® for Drills

Agnostic Automation – Achieve more across your entire drill fleet

Achieve more across your drill fleet with FLANDERS ARDVARC solutions. Deliver increased hole accuracy, productivity, and lower costs across the entire drilling operation with agnostic automation. ARDVARC AUTONOMOUS is the ultimate solution to deliver productivity gains and unlock your drill fleet’s potential regardless of the OEM. FLANDERS technology is agnostic to any drill rig on the market (diesel or electric), and its open-architecture control system will enable mine sites to modernize mining drills with industry leading automation and machine-health monitoring capabilities into the future.

  • ARDVARC Intelligent Drilling – Collaring. Automatically use the ground conditions to control the drilling parameters, delivering productivity gains. Using the ground energy index to control the drill also allows for improved hole collaring, specifically in tough conditions.
  • Increase Accuracy. ARDVARC AUTONOMOUS uses high-precision GPS that delivers greater hole accuracy to your plan across your drill fleet, giving you more predictable fragmentation across your operation.
  • HazTechNext. Higher resolution object detection with improved ground filtering. Limiting the occurrence of false positives and improving the operators’ situational awareness.
  • Reducing Costs. ARDVARC AUTONOMOUS requires fewer operator interventions in tough conditions than other offerings, making it the most robust autonomous solution on the bench. Fewer inputs mean more time spent drilling, allowing more drills to be operated by smaller teams.

You can retrofit a single drill or your entire fleet with our FREEDOM for Drills automation system.

Blasthole drills run by our automation system have drilled millions of holes. In addition to increasing hole-to-hole drilling speed and precision, our automation system eliminates operator errors that could otherwise take a drill out of production for an extended period of time.

Agnostic Drill Automation Offerings

FLANDERS technology is agnostic to any drill rig on the market (diesel or electric), and its open-architecture control system will enable mine sites to modernize mining drills with industry-leading automation and machine health monitoring capabilities.

ARDVARC® Tele-Remote

  • Relocates operator out to the cab to a safe location.
  • Line-of sight required
  • Real time operation and feedback.
  • HPGPS guided to accurately position drill over designed hole.
  • Optional semi-automated feature to assist operator when adding and removing steel.
  • Also applicable to articulating drills.

ARDVARC® One-Touch

The semi- autonomous system provides superior control, allowing the operator to automate drilling operations to give exceptional control, speed and precision.

  • Increase productivity by up to 22%.
  • Automate hole-by-hole drill-setting adjustments based on real-time data and advanced algorithms.
  • Customize reports on drill productivity and health
  • Dust and noise levels are reduced
  • Decision-making and communication are made easier as multiple tele-remote stations can be combined in the same location

ARDVARC® Autonomous

Fully automate your current drills and enable a single person to manage multiple machines remotely.

  • Achieve up to 30% productivity gains, with unmatched control, speed, and precision, plus the elimination of human factors downtime.
  • Fully automate propulsion, positioning, levelling, collaring, drilling, bit retraction, jack resets, and rod handling.
  • Run machines from a safe distance during blasting or in collapse-prone conditions.

ARDVARC Features

HP GPS

High-precision drill guidance allows the operator to drill at the exact GPS coordinates for every blasthole in the pattern.

PIPE-IN-HOLE WARNING

Pipe-in-hole alerts are available to help warn the operator when a rotary carriage and drill pipe fall before the recommended level.

DRILL LEVEL INDICATOR

Provides tilt and pitch information for drill position.

DRILL ANGLE AND DEPTH

Multi-angle monitoring and depth recording.

Services for drills

Having developed the world’s first automated blasthole drill, you can be certain we know everything there is to know about drill controls and electronics; we’re the hard-working, hands-on experts you want on the job.

  • Field services

    • From troubleshooting drill hydraulics to preventative maintenance to total control system replacements, our drill experts are ready to help with anything you need in the field.

      Learn more

  • Advanced engineering

    • Our engineering team specializes in developing new and improved technologies for severe-duty machines with electric rotating systems, including drills, shovels, draglines, and haul trucks.

      Learn more

  • Custom manufacturing

    • If we can engineer it, we can build it. We’re even a motor and drive manufacturer for a number of OEMs in mining and other industries.

      Learn more

  • From troubleshooting drill hydraulics to preventative maintenance to total control system replacements, our drill experts are ready to help with anything you need in the field.

    Learn more

  • Our engineering team specializes in developing new and improved technologies for severe-duty machines with electric rotating systems, including drills, shovels, draglines, and haul trucks.

    Learn more

  • If we can engineer it, we can build it. We’re even a motor and drive manufacturer for a number of OEMs in mining and other industries.

    Learn more

Our full service offerings

Contact us about drill automation

Let’s calculate the ROI for automating one or more drills in your fleet with our proven FREEDOM for Drills technology.

Contact our mining team