Pile Driving Rig

Overview

A pile driving rig installs the deep foundation elements, steel, concrete, or timber piles, that carry building, bridge, and quay loads down to firm ground. The rig holds each pile perfectly vertical against a tall mast and drives it into the soil by repeated impact or by vibration, then moves on to the next position. Mounted on crawler tracks with a fully slewing upper structure, it can travel a site under its own power and reach any pile location within its radius.

The machine combines a crane-like Crawler Base Machine for mobility and lifting with a Leader Mast mast and a Driving Unit that delivers the driving energy.

How it works

The Crawler Base Machine is the platform: a tracked undercarriage for travel, a slew bearing and swing drive so the upper frame can rotate to any heading, and a counterweight balancing the load hung out front. A turbocharged Diesel Engine drives the hydraulic pumps that power everything else.

A pile is first hoisted upright. The Hoist Winches main winch lifts it off the ground while the rig threads it into the Pile Clamp & Cap, which grips the head and aligns it with the leader. The Leader Mast mast guides the pile and the driver in a straight line, and its inclination cylinders let the operator rake the pile to a designed angle.

Driving energy comes from the Driving Unit. In vibratory mode, pairs of counter-rotating eccentric weights spin in the case so their horizontal forces cancel while their vertical forces add, shaking the pile so the surrounding soil briefly loses friction and the pile sinks under its own weight plus the driver's. For hard layers a hydraulic impact ram delivers discrete blows through a cushioned drive cap that protects the pile head. All of this, winches, clamp, leader, slew, travel, and the driver, is fed by the Hydraulic System, with the operator coordinating the sequence from the Operator Cab.