The Lekatech Electric Hammer is a major advance in hammer design and construction. Lightweight and offering high power but producing low vibrations, it is built for operator comfort, economic use and high productivity. To get the company's electric hammer right before its global launch, Lekatech undertook field trials at the famous Seepsula quarry in Finland using the services of two of Finland's most experienced hammer operators.
The Lekatech Electric Hammer is powered by new and patented linear electric motor technology, being designed and developed to revolutionise the impact hammer market. “The Lekatech Electric Hammer is highly efficient and has a power-to-weight ratio superior to similar traditionally powered hammers. Furthermore, it is coming to market at the same time as electric excavators and is thus a natural partner for electric-powered equipment, and the ideal choice for when working in zero or low emission areas,” explains Antti Anttila, Lekatech’s CEO. “Before we introduced it to the market, we wanted to be sure that its design and features were as good as we thought. That is why we undertook such onerous field testing.”
Lekatech chose the Seepsula quarry, located close to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, and some very experienced hammer operators when field testing the new Electric Hammer. The extensive quarry is well known as the leading aggregate supplier in Southern Finland, with extensive expertise and experience in using and applying various equipment used in aggregate production. Furthermore, the experience of the quarry and equipment operators at Seepsula in using modern breaking equipment to help produce a variety of aggregates was seen by Lekatech as essential when it came to developing and refining its new Electric Hammer.
For the field testing of the Electric Hammer at the Seepsula quarry to generate the right feedback on the hammer, choosing the operators was seen as important as choosing the right site. They had to be experienced and knowledgeable to channel their experiences of the electric hammer directly back to Lekatech. The operators selected for the field tests have been working for a long time in the hammering business. Tatu Lehmuskoski is the CEO of the Laitilan Linnee company, but still, from time to time, can be found sitting in an excavator at the sharp end himself. The other operator, Jasper Kultanen, works for the Suomen Räjäytyslouhinta company, which specialises in blasting and secondary breaking.
During the field tests, both operators used the Lekatech Electric Hammer to break approximately 1m3 granite boulders, which, following breaking with the hammer, would then be fed into the Seepsula quarry’s crushing equipment. Lehmuskoski said of his experience: “In the beginning, I was really surprised because the operator comfort was better than I expected. There was a lot of power, even though it was a small hammer. I’m used to bigger hammers. All in all, the testing was a very positive experience.” Lehmuskoski further identified two areas he was specifically impressed by; “The noise and vibration levels were lower than with traditional hammers.”
Likewise, Kultanen was very impressed with the Electric Hammer: “The hammer starts quicker, and there is full power immediately, unlike with traditional hammers.” However, one thing surprised him. “The hammer controllability is really good. You can operate the excavator engine with low idling. The power of the hammer is not dependent on the engine revolutions. This is very good for non-experienced operators.”
Kultanen continued: “The hammer is not kicking back to the excavator; I think the idle blow-preventing system helps. Starting the electric hammer is like starting an electric car: no delays with starting, and full power is available immediately. Low noise and vibration levels were positive surprises when trying out the hammer. The power seemed to be quite good considering the size of the hammer.”
Anttila was delighted with the feedback Lekatech received from such experienced and professional operators. The company CEO said: “The Lekatech Electric hammer is purpose-built and designed with the operator’s comfort in mind. It has been built to deliver 70% better efficiency than hydraulic hammers, has double the impact energy and 98% lower oil consumption when compared to hydraulic hammers. These benefits were highlighted during our field testing, and the positive feedback we received from such professional operators as Tatu Lehmuskoski and Jasper Kultanen reinforces our belief that we have a game-changing revolutionary development.”
