Drilling in rock has enough challenges. The last thing you need is a hydraulic issue.
That’s where directional drill accumulators come in. Absorbing the punishment of pressure spikes, they help keep your crews drilling while others may stall and wait for repairs.
Vermeer engineers used proven technology from maxi rigs to address hydraulic system reliability on directional drills.
And it is not just for the next generation drills, like the Vermeer D24 horizontal directional drill. It is also integrated into the recent updates made to the Vermeer D20x22 S3 horizontal directional drill.
This is the story behind the design — where innovation meets jobsite reliability.
The design challenge: Helping protect directional drill hydraulic systems
It started with the problem: utility drills face hard ground, sudden stops and hydraulic pressure spikes. During carve steering or reaming in tough ground conditions, a “catch-snap” can jolt the drill head or reamer to a halt, sending shockwaves through the hydraulic system.
“In these types of events that we’re talking about, the carve steer or the snap catch, it can cause damage over time,” said Clint Recker, Vermeer product manager.
What causes the damage to the drill during catch-snap? The case pressure becomes higher than the low loop pressure. When this happens, the pistons for the hydraulic pump can lift off the swash plate.
“When that event is over, then they slam back together against the swash plate and that impact is what can cause damage,” Recker said.
Reducing the ability for this to happen became the design challenge.
The Vermeer engineering team knew that protecting the hydraulic longevity and reliability of the hydraulic system is not optional — it is essential.
“The function of the accumulator is to help protect the hydraulic circuit, specifically the hydraulic pump,” said Recker.
Engineering the solution: utility directional drill accumulator
Damage to pumps because of transient pressure is something that can happen to any machine with a hydraulic system, which means Vermeer engineers have seen it and solved it before.
“Being able to collaborate and help as needed when those tough opportunities come up,” Recker said. “Trying not to learn the hard lesson multiple times.”
Inspired by the technology used in pipeline drills and specialty excavation equipment to equalize hydraulic pressure, Vermeer engineers collaborated to determine how to use accumulators on smaller horizontal directional drills.
“It’s best practices that we’ve learned with bigger drills that we’ve applied to the D24,” Recker said.
The challenge: adapt, refine and integrate directional drill accumulators that could absorb pressure spikes and keep the system stable.
Out of the collaboration came an accumulator solution built to manage hydraulic pressure during tough drilling conditions.
By absorbing pressure spikes and helping maintain system stability, the accumulator helps protect critical components and support long-term performance.
It’s a practical engineering upgrade that delivers consistent performance when conditions are anything but consistent.
Testing the moment that matters: pressure spikes and pump protection
After innovative design came testing. Some were done in the field, but many tests were done in lab settings to simulate the conditions that can cause harm to the drill over time.
“It simulates that catch snap or carve steering functionality,” Recker said.
By extensively testing the design, the Vermeer team saw that the accumulator reduces pressure spikes, helping improve the reliability of the hydraulic system and keeping your drill running on your jobsite.
“Generally speaking, the markings of success for this particular component is that nothing happens,” Recker said.
The result: a drill that feels as tough as it looks.
Ready to see Vermeer directional drill engineering in action?
Explore all Vermeer directional drills and discover how directional drill accumulators add to the ironclad reliability, job after job.
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