Cutterhead Support for tunnel boring machine TBM

We have recently developed one Cutterhead Support for the cutter head of a TBM designed for an excavation project in Albania.

Below are a few photos of the TBM control unit set up entirely in the assembly area of Galbiati’s factory.

Some technical data of the Cutterhead support: a bearing support 4.2 metres wide with a roller bearing 3.2 metres in diameter, 10 planetary gears with a transmitted power of 210 kW each, and a lubrication system. Gross weight: 60 tons.

The handling of the Cutterhead support at Galbiati’s factory and the subsequent packaging and transport of these were particularly complex due to the size and weight of the supports.

The Tunnel Boring machine in question, for which the control unit was intended, will have a cutter head for drilling a tunnel on site for the promising “Devoll Hydropower Project” in Albania. The project will involve use of the water resources of the River Devoll which is about 70 km long and situated south-east of the capital of Tehran, and the construction of a water supply network at Moglicë and Banjia, comprising a hydraulic tunnel in the rock about 6.7 km long. The project is expected to be completed by 2018 and will produce about 729 GWh of electricity a year, providing Albania with a 20% annual increase in electrical energy.