Market Report: Sawing & cutting

Core challenges

Marcrist aims to encourage wider use of diamond drilling with its new high-performance system, which is backed by an innovative servicing scheme.

The research leading to Marcrist’s launch this month of its highest-quality diamond core drill range, the CCU850X series, began no less than eight years ago. Not surprisingly, the aim was to provide yet faster and more precise cutting of holes in virtually any commonly used construction material. However, besides the technical challenges, the company’s market analysis suggested that another, perhaps larger, barrier had to be removed, namely a degree of customer resistance based on preconceptions regarding diamond drilling itself.

“Our findings showed that 95% of holes drilled by plumbers, small builders and other tradesmen were still being created by using hammers and chisels or conventional hammer drills,” states Product Manager Dale Robertson. “As well as believing diamond drilling to be expensive, they told us they found it difficult to choose equipment and core drills appropriate to the material being worked upon. Yet by using other methods, they were creating more dust and noise, and spending huge amounts of time and money making good. Indeed, most admitted that core drilling was the best way of doing the job.”

To address this situation, Marcrist decided to develop a complete solution, comprising not only the core drills, but also the machines to use with them, at a very keen price. At the heart of the system,
for which three patents have been applied and three design registrations, is the CCU850X range of core drills, designed for the highest professional performance standards and manufactured at the company’s Doncaster headquarters.

The 9mm segments comprise real and synthetic diamond throughout their length and each core is individually balanced. The range covers diameters from 22-200mm, offered in lengths of both 165mm and 350mm, as Marcrist says that the speed of drilling enables larger sizes to be used. A dedicated core range for frequent wet drilling is also available, designated CCW850X. Although the cores are designed to fit any appropriate drilling machine, Marcrist is introducing its own tool for use with them, called the DDM2, which carries the astonishingly low (and heavily subsidised) price tag of £150 to encourage wider take-up of the diamond drilling concept. The two-speed machine (a three-speed version is due by the end of the year) is optimised for the performance of the CCU850X cores and is available in 110V and 240V versions. It has a full oil bath gearbox, a safety clutch and an in-line residual current device (RCD) as standard. All necessary tools are supplied, plus a short DVD illustrating correct operation, again aimed at making it easy to understand.

“Anyone who can operate a standard drill can use our system to dry-drill holes quickly and precisely in virtually any material, even granite,” contends Dale Robertson. Drill adaptors are available, as is a dust collection attachment, which reduces the need to use a separate vacuum cleaner. Also provided is an accessory for the fast removal of cores from the drill bit, resembling a slide hammer. “Our trials show that using the DDM2 and CCU850X cores is very much faster than other methods. We suggest that, for a 125mm-diameter hole to a depth of 20mm in 45Nm concrete, it would typically take 27 minutes of initial chiselling, 15 minutes to make the hole good and then ten minutes plastering. Using our system, the hole can be made in just six minutes.” For particularly demanding applications, the DDM2 has a water connection to enable wet drilling.

Another surprising plus-point is that Marcrist is offering ten years’ servicing of the DDM2 free of charge, including collection and return. The first year is provided as standard, and subsequent servicing is available free if the owner supplies ten tokens with the tool, with one token being given with every CCU850X core drill purchased. Servicing will be carried out by Marcrist technicians at Doncaster, with turnaround promised within 72 hours.

Instead of the conventional cardboard boxes that core drills are supplied in, new containers have been designed. The tough plastic cylinders not only give added protection but also make storage easier. The screw tops are colour coded, gold for the CCU850X bits and blue for the CCW850X wet core drills. Containers with red tops are being introduced for Marcrist’s existing CCU750 range.

Marcrist points out that it already has substantial experience of machinery development. It offers an established range of surface preparation equipment, and has frequently worked with tool manufacturers wanting to assess the performance and capability of their products, so the design of the DDM2 is seen as a logical progression.

As with other Marcrist products, hirers are being invited to test the new system on a 30-day trial, and if they are not fully satisfied with its performance, the company says it will refund the customer and take the product back with no questions asked. “We are promoting the concept of diamond drilling, not just a new product,” states Dale Robertson. “It is all about building partnerships between ourselves and hirers, and between hirers and their customers. A more efficient system will generate extra business opportunities, and achieve higher standards of workmanship.” •

T 01302 890888
W www.marcrist.com

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