Underground Construction - January 2020 - 50

NEWPRODUCTS LATEST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS

Barbco's Revolutionary FlexBor
Receives Patent

Underground construction in urban areas can be a constricting and uniquely challenging experience -
especially without a versatile and maneuverable machine. Enabling contractors and operators to overcome
these challenges inspired improvements to an already proven Ditch Witch ride-on trencher, the RT80.
The new, modern RT80 trencher brings a narrower, more modular design and added versatility to the
Ditch Witch family of trenchers. The slimmer model is ideal for heavy-duty trenching, vibratory plowing and
microtrenching in conﬁned urban and residential areas where larger machines cannot maneuver as freely.
With the typical residential street lane having a width of 11 feet, the RT80's footprint of just over 61⁄2 feet
gives operators plenty of room to work, without disrupting the surrounding area.
"The RT80 trencher was built to adapt," said Chris Thompson, Ditch Witch product manager, heavy-duty
trenchers. "Faced with tighter deadlines, smaller budgets and more congested underground networks,
contractors need a utility trencher that can ﬁt and function in any environment.
Moving between job sites is also simpliﬁed by a modular track-frame that allows tires and tracks to be
easily interchanged in the ﬁeld. And when it's equipped with tracks, the trencher ﬁts on a standard dropdeck trailer for easy transport.
The updated design improves the RT80 trencher's versatility, but it still delivers the productivity and ease
of use that the machine's users expect. Built for heavy-duty work, RT80 is powered by a 74.5-horsepower
Deutz, Tier 4 diesel engine. It delivers a best-in-class static load rating of 35,407 pounds and a wide-axle
rating of 39,000 pounds.
Its three-speed, shift-on-the-ﬂy ground drive system increases productivity by allowing operators to
select the correct range without needing to stop work. And it can work in any terrain or weather condition.
An advanced cruise-control system senses engine load and automatically adjusts ground drive speed to
changing soil conditions for superior traction and maneuverability.*

Barbco Inc. Co-Owner and CEO, Anthony R.
Barbera was granted U.S. Patent #10465460 for
the FlexBor tooling and technology. This is another
milestone in the East Canton, Ohio, manufacturer's
storied 30-year history of driving underground
manufacturing industries forward.
FlexBor is a cost-effective, environmentally
safe trenchless method that is designed to virtually
eliminate "frac-outs"/ "inadvertent returns" that are
associated with horizontal directional drilling (HDD)
and the use of bentonite.
The Patent abstract reads: "A cutting assembly
and method for drilling an underground borehole.
The cutting assembly includes front and rear cutting
heads of different diameters mounted on a shaft. An
air passage deﬁned through the cutting assembly
may be placed in ﬂuid communication with a pressurized remote air source and with a bore of a casing
extending rearwardly from the cutting assembly.
Pressurized air ﬂows through the air passage and entrains cuttings produced by the front and rear cutting
heads. A housing extends rearwardly from the larger
diameter rear cutting head and an auger provided
within the housing aids in directing cuttings into the
casing. The auger rotates independently of the rest
of the cutting assembly and may be conﬁgured to
further reduce the size of the cuttings." *

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Ditch Witch, (580) 336-4402, ditchwitch.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Barbco Inc., (888) 633-8395, barbco.com

Next-Generation Ditch Witch RT80: Designed for Versatility

DataLogger 6 Update Boasts Groundbreaking Features
Productivity improvements and new features to DataLogger 6 allow users to document and analyze even more of their job sites. These groundbreaking
enhancements in Version 1.15 include McElroy Optimized Cooling, which reduces the minimum cool time per a new, patent-pending formula that is ASTM
F2620-compliant. In addition, this update includes the ability to capture pressure tests in the ﬁeld.
McElroy conducted extensive testing and partnered with the University of Tulsa on the procedures for cooling - the longest step in the fusion process -
to determine the appropriate amount of time it takes to cool the center of the pipe.
The cool time can be reduced with McElroy Optimized Cooling based on a formula that includes the ambient temperature, pipe temperature, weather
conditions, heat soak time and pipe wall thickness for each joint. This procedure results in dramatic time savings for the entire fusion process - of days and
even weeks on the job.*
FOR MORE INFORMATION
McElroy, (918) 836-8611, mcelroy.com

JANUARY 2020 | UConOnline.com

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Underground Construction - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Underground Construction - January 2020