Infrastructure and Civil Engineering
Geonex’s technology is ideal for infrastructure projects where underground installations are needed without disrupting surface activities.
Breaking Ground Without Breaking the Surface - Horizontal Hammer Boring
Horizontal Hammer Boring combines percussive power and continuous casing to create a controlled path underground—without excavation. The method is ideal for infrastructure crossings where accuracy, ground stability, and minimal disturbance are critical.
Get started with Horizontal Hammer boring
Trusted partners
Key Features of Horizontal Hammer Boring
-
Trenchless Technology for Minimal Surface Disruption
Geonex Horizontal Hammer Boring is designed for trenchless installations where maintaining surface integrity is critical. The method requires only a compact launch pit and operates without the need for shafts, anchors, thrust walls, or leveled pit bottoms. This allows infrastructure to be installed under roads, railways, buildings, or water without excavation along the bore path.
By minimizing surface disruption, the method significantly reduces the need for traffic rerouting, soil restoration, or environmental permitting. It also limits the impact on nearby residents and businesses, making it ideal for urban and environmentally sensitive areas.
-
Powerful Performance in All Ground Conditions
The core of Geonex’s boring solution is the DTH hammer, which delivers high-frequency energy directly to the pilot bit. This allows it to break through solid hard rock, densely packed moraine, mixed ground with boulders, and even blasted fill—without losing penetration efficiency.
Unlike many other trenchless methods, there’s no need to change equipment or adjust tooling when the ground composition changes mid-bore. The same system performs through various soil classes, which ensures uninterrupted operation and predictable performance in unpredictable ground.
-
High Precision for Critical Installations
Precision is achieved not by active steering but through mechanical control and system balance. As the DTH hammer advances and breaks the material, the casing is simultaneously pulled behind, maintaining a rope-like tension that keeps the bore straight.
The rig includes independently adjustable jack-legs and side-shift beams to ensure perfect orientation—even when working on uneven surfaces. Integrated hydraulic adjustments allow fine-tuning during operation, while onboard diagnostics help the operator respond to soil variations in real time. This accuracy is essential for utility crossings, pipe jacking pilots, and projects with strict alignment tolerances.
-
Flexible Diameter Range for Diverse Applications
Geonex equipment supports a wide range of casing diameters from Ø139.7 mm (5 ½”) to Ø1219.2 mm (48”), all in single-pass, fully cased bores. The same boring principle applies across the entire range, with interchangeable components that allow the contractor to adapt the system to job-specific requirements.
This flexibility makes it suitable for a variety of applications—from small municipal cable ducts and conduits to large-scale gas, water, and district heating pipelines. Contractors don’t need to invest in multiple systems for different casing sizes—Geonex rigs can scale to the task.
-
Cost-Effective and Time-Saving Operations
The Geonex method streamlines operations from setup to execution. Launch pit excavation is simple, requiring no concrete thrust walls or complex pit preparation. Setup can be completed in less than a day, and continuous feeding via rack-and-pinion systems eliminates interruptions caused by jacking cylinder resets.
Because the system is designed for one-pass installation with casing, it eliminates separate pilot and reaming steps. Fewer operatives are needed on-site—typically two to four depending on diameter—and the rig’s remote control capability reduces manual handling. All of this adds up to shorter project durations, lower labor costs, and greater predictability in scheduling.
