Contrary to popular belief, diamond core drilling isn’t actually the act of drilling for diamonds. To understand diamond core drilling, one needs to understand what ‘core drilling’ actually entails. Think of core drilling rigs as big mechanical apple core removers. Master Drilling shares the basics of diamond core drilling.
A cylindrical shaft and rotating drill bit is used to drill into a section of solid earth, rock or concrete. This forms a section of ‘core’ within the cylindrical pipe that can be extracted and examined. Regular drilling rig drill bits are able to core through soil and some rocks, however stronger bits are needed when drilling through concrete and denser rock formations.
This is where diamonds come in. Diamond core drilling rigs feature special drill bits with diamonds attached to the tip. Thanks to their extreme strength, diamonds can be used to cut through almost any material known to man, but is mainly used when drilling through concrete and dense rock.
“Industrial strength diamonds are placed into the hollow end of the drill bit and they are used to cut away at almost any strength of rock or other material. The use of diamonds makes the drilling process more accurate and as the diamonds have incredible strength, the drill bit will last longer.”
Drill bits feature industrial-strength diamonds placed strategically in a toughened steel matrix. As drilling commences, the steel matrix is stripped away to expose the diamonds. The drilling becomes more effective once the diamonds are exposed.
One major advantage of diamond core drilling over regular industrial drilling is that the equipment used in the process is lighter and easier to transport. Here are a few more advantages of diamond core drilling:
*Source: https://masterdrilling.com/diamond-core-drilling.html/*