Dr. David Rempel led a team of researchers from the University of California in San Francisco and Berkeley that developed an“倒”钻机。The tool cuts the stress that overhead drilling can create on a construction worker’s shoulders, arms and hands by nearly 90%, without losing any productivity.
A physician, professor and head of the UCSF ergonomics program, Rempel directed the research team throughout five years of developing and field-testing the inverted drill press with construction workers in California, Oregon and Washington.
The device consists of a tripod base on locking wheels, a telescoping vertical column with a drill-mounting saddle on top, alignment devices, and handwheels and gears that extend and retract the column. It weighs about 45 lb, can be assembled on-site in about 30 seconds and is compatible with personnel lifts.
电工，水管工，木匠，钣金工人和工人每年钻成千上万个高架孔，用于固定管道，导管，电缆托盘，导管，支柱和天花板设备的锚螺栓。钻头使建筑工人站在地面上，不站在梯子上时，可以将孔钻入混凝土或金属天花板中。
正常的手工钻孔要求工人用55磅的力到达头顶并向上推动。Rempel说：“我们想减少为执行此任务的工人减少磨损和相关的肌肉骨骼疾病。”
考虑工作。Rempel解释说：“这就像将嘈杂的，振动的50磅盒子在您的肩膀上方，而灰尘掉入您的脸和眼睛也一样 - 虽然您站在梯子上。”他的团队发明的手轮操作钻机的钻孔仅需5.8磅的力，相当于减少89.5％。
An alignment system also eliminates the need to climb a ladder to mark hole locations before drilling. Each inverted drill press currently costs about $1,000 for components and $3,000 in labor to build.
REMPEL说，制造商现在正在评估是否将倒置的钻机作为商业产品推向市场，研究团队正在开发更大的型号，以处理用于将高速公路桥梁，立交桥和岩石放置在高速公路上的较重的钻头。该研究由国家职业安全与健康研究所的赠款建设和培训中心资助。
