The Lekatech Electric Hammer is powered by new and patented linear electric motor technology, being designed and developed to revolutionise the impact hammer market. “The Lekatech Electric Hammer is highly efficient and has a power to weight ratio superior to similar traditionally powered hammers. Before we introduced it to the market, we wanted to be sure that its design and features were as good as we thought they were.  That is why we undertook such onerous field testing,” explains Antti Anttila, CEO, Lekatech Oy.

Famous granite quarry

Lekatech chose the Seepsula quarry, located close to the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, and some very experienced hammer operators when it came to the field testing of the new Electric Hammer. The large and extensive quarry is well known as the leading aggregate supplier in Southern Finland, with extensive expertise and experience in the use and application of a variety of equipment used in aggregate production. Furthermore, the experience of the quarry and equipment operators at Seepsula in using modern breaking equipment to help produce a variety of aggregates was seen by Lekatech as essential when it came to the development and refinement of its new Electric Hammer. 

For the field testing at the Seepsula quarry to generate the right feedback on the hammer, choosing the operators was seen as important as choosing the right site. They had to be experienced and knowledgeable so to channel their experiences of the hammer directly back to Lekatech. The operators selected for the field tests have been working for a long time in the hammering business; Tatu Lehmuskoski is the CEO of the Laitilan Linnee company, but still from time to time can be found sitting in an excavator at the sharp end himself. The other operator, Jasper Kultanen, works for the Suomen Räjäytyslouhinta company which specialises in blasting and secondary breaking. 

Feedback from the experts

During the field tests both operators used the Electric Hammer to break approximately 1m3 granite boulders, which following breaking with the hammer would then be fed into the Seepsula quarry’s crushing equipment. Tatu Lehmuskoski said of his experience: “In the beginning, I was really surprised because the operator comfort was really better than I expected. There was a lot of power, even though it was a rather small hammer. I'm used to bigger hammers. All in all, the testing was a very positive experience.” Tatu further identified two areas that he was specifically impressed by; “The noise and vibration levels were lower than with traditional hammers.”

Likewise, Jasper Kultanen´s was very impressed: “The hammer starts quicker and there is full power immediately, unlike with traditional hammers.” However, one thing surprised Jasper, “The hammer controllability is really good. You can operate the excavator engine with low idling. The power of the hammer is not dependent on the engine revolutions. This is very good for non-experienced operators.”

In fact, Jasper Kultanen enthused on his experiences: “The hammer is not kicking back to the excavator; I think the idle blow preventing system helps. The starting of the electric hammer is like starting an electric car, no delays with starting and full power available immediately. Low noise and vibration levels were positive surprises when trying out the hammer. The power seemed to be quite good considering the size of the hammer.”

Antti Anttila was delighted with the feedback Lekatech received from such experienced and professional operators. He commented, “The Lekatech Electric hammer is purpose built and designed with the operator's comfort in mind. It has been built to deliver 70% better efficiency than hydraulic hammers, have double the impact energy and 98% lower oil consumption when compared to hydraulic hammers. These benefits were highlighted during our field testing and the positive feedback we received from such professional operators as Tatu Lehmuskoski and Jasper Kultanen reinforces our belief in that we have a game changing revolutionary development.”