Capture real-time rock hardness data
MWD-A is a software option for Sandvik's iDrill on-board automation platform, turning the iSeries drills themselves into a measurement tool during blasting.
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Full pattern coverage across drills
Today, blasting is planned on incomplete data. Operators rely on manual input and sparse core samples that result in inconsistent blasts, wasted energy, and downstream costs on time and equipment maintenance.
There's a better way to make blasting decisions, and it's already inside the iSeries models equipped with the TIM3D drill navigation system.
Instead of interpolating rock strength between widely spaced sample points, you get a verified hardness and fracture profile across the entire pattern, built from the drilling you are already doing. The picture of the orebody is continuous, and it comes at no additional cost to the drilling cycle.
Four ways MWD-A puts rock data to work
01 — Real-time ore identification
Drill operators can determine rock hardness and separate ore from waste as the hole is drilled, supporting selective mining. In softer ground, the same data helps delineate features such as coal seams; in hard rock, it builds a blastability profile in and around each hole.
02 — Blast optimization
With verified rock strength for every hole, operators can adjust explosive loads hole by hole rather than across broad zones. Matching energy to the ground produces more consistent fragmentation, reduces vibration and overbreak, and lowers downstream handling cost.
03 — Smarter automation
Measured rock data will eventually feed the AutoDrill algorithm, helping it maintain penetration rate and hole quality as conditions change. Autonomous performance and efficiency improve as the system accumulates data from the formation.
04 — Equipment and consumable planning
By monitoring drilling dynamics, MWD-A helps anticipate bit and consumable wear. That supports parts availability, protects the rig, and keeps productivity predictable.
Available now across the iSeries range
MWD-A is ready to run on the drills you already operate. Talk to your Sandvik representative to confirm compatibility and start turning every hole into usable rock data.
