News

Fast overhaul of a bottleneck

New bit W6EH from BETEK at the milling site "Antwerp Ring"

All of the traffic flowing towards France and Germany from the ports in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp goes through Antwerp. The ring around the city is the most heavily travelled road in Europe. Now this main traffic route had to be completely overhauled - a unique opportunity to demonstrate the outstanding performance of Wirtgen machines in combination with BETEK tools.

The overhaul of the Antwerp Ring meant diverting traffic between the Kennedy Tunnel and the North Interchange - resulting in chaotic traffic conditions. So the overhaul work had to be completed as quickly as possible to allow the construction syndicate to re-open the main section to traffic as soon as possible.

The companies NFM Mijdrecht and Aduco from the Netherlands and Holgo from Belgium were awarded the contracts for the milling work. Some 200,000 tons of asphalt plus the hydraulically bonded base layer had to be removed. Milling was done simultaneously on two equally large sections.

8 large milling machines from the company Wirtgen (7 models Wirtgen W2200, 1 model Wirtgen W2100 DC) were in use. In only one week, 100,000 tons of material had been milled off the first section and piled up along the side.

This work was preceded by extensive tests with milling tools to determine which tool would work most efficiently. A comparison test of the BETEK tools W6H, W6LH and W6EH proved the latter to be the best. The decision clearly demonstrated the advantages of innovative further development. The W6EH has a new profile with drive webs for improved rotary performance. The movement of the milled material is exploited to drive the bit forward. Even better use is made of the tungsten carbide and there are fewer machine stops. At the same time, the milled material moves away from the work area more quickly. There is less friction loss and less wear and tear on the bit holder and barrel. This in turn means less application of force and reduced fuel consumption.

In summary: the W6EH has convincing performance in its rotary performance, service life and feed. So it achieves a high degree of efficiency - to the benefit of the end customer. By the way, the bit W6EH will be included in the official Wirtgen product line starting in 2005.

In comparison with the W6H, the W6EH has a narrower tip and a new profile - for longer service life, consistently high feed over longer periods and 20% more output.

8 large milling machines from the company Wirtgen (model Wirtgen W2200) were used on the Antwerp Ring.

In only one week, 100,000 tons of material had been milled off the first section and piled up along the side.