The Airbus Defense and Space plant extension in Immenstaad am Bodensee, Germany, is utilizing two Liebherr drilling rigs for deep foundation work. The LB 28-320 and LB 36-410 are equipped with the rotary drives BAT 320 and BAT 410.

The company Kurt Motz Baubetriebsgesellschaft GmbH & Co KG is carrying out foundation work for a new production building for the Integrated Technology Center (ITC) at the premises of Airbus Defense and Space, a division of the Airbus Group. The two Liebherr machines being used are part of a package of six new Liebherr LB devices that Kurt Motz has adopted. The official handover took place directly on the Airbus jobsite.

Using Kelly equipment, the machines are installing cased, drilled piles for the foundations of the new building, which is an extension of the technology center and measures approximately 70-by-60 meters. The single piles are 40 meters long and have diameters of 750 and 900 millimeters.

Foundation work involves a total drilling length of 7,900 meters. A particular challenge is posed by the closeness to Lake Constance. In order to avoid groundwater and seawater, a sheet pile wall was erected using a Liebherr piling and drilling rig type LRB 125.

The BAT series of rotary drives, developed by Liebherr, provides the necessary torque for a multitude of drilling applications. The automatic torque regulation and the continuous speed optimization react flexibly to different soil conditions, which ensures optimum drilling progress.

A decisive advantage of the LB 28-320 and LB 36-410 drilling rigs is their smooth and precise control, Liebherr says. The electro-hydraulic proportional control enables several movements to be carried out simultaneously and with precision.

The LB 28-320 has a robust leader, which easily absorbs the rotary drive’s torque of 320 kNm and the 40-ton push-and-pull force of the rope crowd system. This ensures especially quick work cycles. The parallel kinematics of the leader system allows for a large working radius, as well as accurate and stable operation.

The LB 36-410 is the next largest model in the Liebherr series of drilling rigs and has a torque of 410 kNm. Significant advantages of the machine, which weighs 127 tons, are the easy transport and the quick setup times on the jobsite. Despite a large machine class the upper carriage is compact and designed for a small swing radius. This allows for work to be carried out efficiently even in restricted spaces.