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Screw piles or helical piles are installed to an engineered torque specification. By the time installation torque is reached and the operator stops the machine, the screw pile has built up rotational energy - similar to a rubber band on a wind up model aeroplane. This energy that is stored in the anchor needs to be released before the drive unit is disconnected. The ECV bypasses the stored energy allowing the anchor to “unwind” in a controlled manner. Without this valve, the pressure contained when holding the pile in place would be forced up the pile and into the drive unit resulting in potential damage & costly repairs for the motor and gearbox. See the diagram below, the red arrow demonstrates the force of the energy up the screw pile. Digga's flow reversal bypass valve (Energy Control Valve - ECV) is fitted as standard to Digga Screw Anchor Drives and can be retro fitted to drilling drives as required. The Digga ECV effectively protects the motor in your dr...

Digga’s range of screw anchor and auger drives are the ultimate in performance, quality and cost effectiveness. With over 30 years of design and development, working in the field and listening to the needs of our customers to exceed their expectations. All Digga drive units are manufactured in Australia, by Digga - from the hood on the drive to the gear box and Eaton motor. Our drives feature key design modifications to stand them apart from the competition: Integrated motor and output housing unit Our custom designed hydraulic motors were developed in conjunction with Eaton, using Eaton Geroler technology. Not satisfied with an off-the-shelf motor we developed the design specifically for the earth moving industry; significantly reducing the weight and overall length of the drive unit by integrating the hydraulic motor into the actual housing. Merging the motor with the input housing creates a direct connection to the gearset and eliminates the need for several gearbo...

It is said that the first recorded use of a screw pile was by Alexander Mitchell, a brick maker and engineer from Ireland who coined the term ‘screw-pile’ in 1833. Initially the concept of screw piling was used to provide solid foundations for lighthouses in soft soil and provided enough holding power to safely moor ships in the harbour. The original screw pile concept cannot be officially confirmed but in the April 1848 issue of the Civil Engineer and Architects Journal the article highlights the mechanics of the bearing power of screw moorings and screw piles which Alexander Mitchell is argued to have introduced:  "The origin of the screw-pile was the screw mooring, which was designed for the purpose of obtaining, for an especial purpose, a greater holding power than was possessed by either the ordinary pile or any of the usual mooring -anchor blocks, of however large dimensions.... whether this broad spiral flange, [or ’ground screw,’ as it may be termed] were fixed...

Hypower Hydraulics are a Digga reseller from New South Wales. They specialise in hydraulics, but they often have a customer requirement for drilling and screw anchor drives with high power and high torque – although never the ‘standard’ requirements. Manual Geldes, the business owner, explained that his customers often call up for the “weird and wonderful” and it is his long-standing relationship with Digga Australia and his trust in our manufacture that allows him to meet their requirements. Hypower Hydraulics request custom drives for different ground conditions or specific screw anchoring applications. They most recently called upon Digga when they needed a drive with a specific gear ratio that would allow their customer to achieve the desired speed and torque output to complete a job. In this instance, they opted for a custom drive which features a custom gearset configuration tested to achieve the specification. In the past, they have relied on the team at Digga for varia...

Tiah Selkrig is 'screwing' the stereotypes of gender roles in construction and proudly advertises her ‘very girly’ pink Digga screw anchor drive and matching pink excavator when on site! Wanting to show construction sites all over the Hunter Valley region that girls can do just as much as boys, Tiah decided she was going to raise the awareness of being a women in construction and painted her Digga drive pink to match the back of her excavator. Tiah works for AAA Down Under offering earth moving, civil construction and foundation services to the Hunter Valley region. AAA Down Under is her Dad’s business and she explained growing up around her father using earth moving machinery inspired her to become an operator just like him. Today she operates her excavator with the Digga MD190 screw anchor drive to install screw piles and said, “I love the Digga drive, it’s the best thing I’ve got!” Tiah decided to custom paint her Digga MD190 screw anchor drive ‘ Breast Cancer Pi...

Coming from a background of Australian small business, helical piling experts Brodie and Rob Houghton believe that supporting Australian manufacturing, skills and ingenuity should be top of the list when selecting new machinery attachments. Brodie and Rob Houghton have over 25 years of experience in small business development, servicing specialist engineering and construction industry niches, including extensive experience in the Residential, Civil and Commercial Construction disciplines. Brodie and Rob are now the Directors of Solidity Pty Ltd , specialists in Helical Pile manufacture and installation. Solidity service the entire state of Victoria, with emphasis on areas with swampy or sandy foundations, where helical piling provides significant economic and structural benefits over the concrete bored pile equivalent. The Solidity team operate using a number of different machinery platforms, and have recently purchased a new 5.5T excavator. Each of their excavators is matched ...

A man who spent years trying to break Digga screw anchor drive units now says he can’t run his business without them. Geoff Taunton runs Gold Coast Screw Piers , a Queensland-based deep foundation system provider servicing more than 200 clients from Coffs Harbour to Cairns. Explaining the history of his business, Geoff told us: "Back when Digga was still in the R&D phase they would give me a new test auger drive unit and tell me to go and break it. Installing screw piers and bored piers involves putting extreme vertical force on the piece of machinery attachment. It’s extremely harsh on the equipment, so it was really an ideal testing ground for the drive units. I would break the drive and tell Digga exactly what I was doing and what pressure it was under when it broke. They would use that information to improve the design, then give me a new one to break and the process would start again. These days it’s pretty hard to break a Digga screw anchor drive. For such a sev...

What is a screw pile? A screw pile is also known as a helical pile, helical anchor, helix pier, screw anchor, helical pier, torque pile and/ or torque anchor. What is screw piling?  In unstable grounds when a traditional cast-in-place foundation system is not possible, screw piling offers a foundation support system for an ever increasing number of applications. Screw piling is the application of a screw pile into the ground. A screw pile is a factory manufactured steel foundation system consisting of a central rod with one or more helix shaped blade plates and a bracket at the end that allows attachment to a structure. The tip is cut on an angle to allow it to penetrate the ground as a pilot. The pile has 'flights' which are flat in pitch to help the pile pull itself into the ground with minimum downforce applied. With the use of an excavator and a hydraulic screw anchor drive motor attached, the screw pile is screwed into the ground to the desired compression torque...

Screw piling comes with a range of advantages and their application continues to grow as we continue to build and develop marginal sites; from the instant foundations of manufactured homes and pre-engineered metal buildings to axial compression and lateral tension load supports. There are a number of benefits to screw piling over traditional methods and we often here industry experts saying helical piling is more efficient and better for the environment. Here we dig a little bit deeper to look at some of the pros to screw piling. Screw piling is quick to install - providing the job brief has clearly defined the parameters effectively, screw piling can be completed efficiently. There is no requirement for cement, waiting on setting times or digging out the ground, so you can move straight onto the next one without having to hang about. Measuring and recording - one of the most important features of screw piling is the ability to verify the load capacity during the installation ...