Background: Addressing a Common Industry Challenge

Pile cropping and cutting have long been some of the most hazardous and time-consuming tasks on construction sites. Traditional methods, such as pile croppers and disc cutters, present significant safety risks, including flying shrapnel, falling debris, and harmful dust.

Additionally, these methods often damage the pile, requiring capping or repair before construction can proceed.

In January 2021, GAR Contractors Ltd approached Wheatway Solutions with a challenge. They were installing concrete and steel piles on a large construction project and needed a faster, safer solution for cutting piles to size. Given our history of collaboration with GAR Contractors, we were the natural choice to develop a bespoke solution to meet their needs.

The Solution: Pile-Cut System

Our innovative Pile-Cut system offers a safer and more efficient alternative to traditional pile cutting methods. Unlike conventional equipment, Pile-Cut utilises diamond wire rope instead of cutting discs or croppers. This not only enhances safety but also significantly reduces cutting time and improves the quality of the final product.

Key Features of the Pile-Cut System

Diamond Wire Rope Technology: Provides faster, cleaner cuts without crushing or damaging the pile.

• Hydraulic grab: Positioned above the cutting arm, it stabilises the pile during cutting and safely handles offcuts, preventing falling debris.

• Integrated tilt mechanism: Ensures cuts are consistently level without the need for a tiltrotator.

• Adaptable design: Primarily designed as an excavator attachment, Pile-Cut can also operate as a standalone unit with a support frame for added versatility.

• Variable cutting speed: The speed of the cutting arm can be manually adjusted to ensure consistent pressure throughout the cut.

During testing, the Pile-Cut system was mounted to a 16-ton Volvo excavator, showcasing its lightweight design and versatility. Unlike traditional wire rope systems, which require standalone units and external hydraulic power sources, Pile-Cut operates seamlessly from the carrier’s auxiliary hydraulic circuit.

Why Diamond Wire Rope?

Diamond wire rope sets Pile-Cut apart from other pile cutting systems, offering significant safety and performance benefits:

• Faster cutting: Cuts a 300mm pile in just 6 minutes, compared to 20 minutes with conventional methods. Future upgrades (expected in 2025) aim to reduce this to as little as 3 minutes.

• Cleaner cuts: Leaves a precise, damage-free cut, eliminating the need for capping or repairs.

• Reduced dust: Produces minimal dust compared to disc cutters, with an integrated water jet providing additional dust suppression.

• Enhanced safety: If the wire rope breaks, it simply falls to the ground without creating dangerous shrapnel.

• Reduced downtime: Wires can be quickly replaced, ensuring minimal downtime, even during high-demand projects.

Performance and Results

Testing demonstrated that Pile-Cut drastically outperformed traditional methods in terms of speed, efficiency, and safety. While conventional systems take up to 20 minutes to cut through a 300mm reinforced concrete pile, our Pile-Cut system completed the same task in 6 minutes, offering a significant increase in productivity.

The system also excelled at cutting through mixed materials, such as reinforced concrete, where other systems often struggle. The clean, precise cuts ensured that the structural integrity of the piles was maintained, eliminating the need for additional remedial work and reducing the overall installation cost.

Design, Development, and Manufacturing

The initial design phase took 6 months, beginning with extensive research into existing pile cutting methods. Whilst diamond wire rope is far from a new technology, it had never before been used in an excavator mounted pile cutter.

Our R&D team completed all of the design and development for this project in-house. Thanks to their extensive experience, they were able to rapidly develop innovative solutions to any challenges they faced during the project.

One problem which quickly arose during the development phase, was uneven wear of the wire rope. This would not only result in the wire rope wearing out far quicker, but also reduced cutting speed.

Whilst the team experimented with several different options to counter this, the simplest solution happened to be the most effective. Adding a twist to the rope eliminated this completely, ensuring even wear along the full length of the wire rope.

Just like the design and development process, all the manufacturing was also completed in-house. This allowed us complete control over quality and the production time frames, ensuing the project was delivered on time and to a standard far exceeding the customer’s expectations.

Thanks to our turnkey manufacturing capabilities, including fabrication, CNC machining and product assembly, we were able to take the project from drawing to finished product in just one month.

Compliance and Technical Documentation

Before the final product could be sold in the UK and Europe, it required UKCA and CE certificates. This is an official declaration from the manufacturer that the product is safe, and that it conforms to all of the relevant regulatory standards. A CE certificate is also a requirement for export to Europe.

As an established manufacturer and experienced exporter, our team have an in-depth knowledge of this process. We carry out every stage in-house, including creating all of the required technical documentation.

In the case of this project, this capability allowed us to deliver a bespoke, market ready solution without delay.

A Safer, Faster Future for Pile Cutting

The Pile-Cut system has redefined pile cutting efficiency, offering unparalleled speed, safety, and precision for projects of any scale. By eliminating many of the hazards associated with traditional methods and significantly reducing cutting times, Pile-Cut is paving the way for safer, more productive jobsites.

Need a Bespoke Industrial Solution?

Sometimes you’re facing a problem that doesn’t have an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution, and it’s these problems we specialise in solving. We work closely with customers across a variety of global industries, to design, manufacture and deliver innovative solutions to their biggest challenges.

If you would like to discuss a project, then you can get in touch with our team at info@wheatway.com.