DFI

Nobody drives piles like DFI. A large modern fleet of proven machines, innovative upgrades, and an inexhaustible supply of piling material make DFI the right choice for piledriving. DFI has driven more than one million steel piles, measuring over 7,000 miles in depth, and weighing in excess of one and a half billion pounds. That’s experience that few companies can match.

Driving piles places a heavy toll on equipment. A crane uses a winch to lift a 7,000 pound weight, then drops it from a three foot height resulting in a collision measuring 21,000 foot pounds. A collision repeated 40 times a minute for hours at a time. Most units eventually fail, so DFI designed and built the RGZ crane-a machine durable enough, with the versatility to function as a high capacity crane, and light enough to haul 45,000 pounds of equipment behind it DFI is the only piledriving contractor in North America that operates a purpose built, customized fleet of cranes, hammers, and piledriving leads.

DFI units can drive 26 meter piles, the longest continuous length in Western Canada. Battered (angled) piles up to 26 meters can be driven, and DFI machines install large diameter piles-up to 42 inches. From 24 to 40 ton, 66 to 80 foot booms, tracked or truck mounted, RGZ cranes are the toughest in the business.

Regardless of the size of the job, DFI can get it done quickly. RGZ cranes rig up in just 30 minutes, employ the most efficient hammers in the industry, and can install piles up to 55 feet from the machine, keeping the machine working instead of relocating. For large jobs, multiple machines can be supplied, and for rough terrain or hard to reach areas, tracked units are available-for small jobs, a 35 ton tri-drive RGZ crane hauling all the required piledriving equipment and 28,000 pounds of piles to site. RGZ cranes have exceptional lift and reach capabilities, so when the piledriving is complete, machines can set tanks or buildings-saving clients time and money.

Piles are driven one of two ways-with either a gravity drop hammer, or a propelled hammer. A drop hammer is raised by the winch and released using gravity to accelerate the weight downwards. DFI drop hammers use a proprietary linear gliding system to minimize drag and increase efficiency. Hammer weights are certified by an independent engineering firm, and deliver up to 40,000 foot pounds of driving energy. Propelled hammers come in two varieties. Many companies offer aging, polluting diesel models. DFI uses clean, efficiency hydraulic hammers. DFI RGZ hydraulic hammers are among the most efficient in the world using hydraulic pressure to raise the weight then propel it downwards reaching a g-force of 1.20-a full 20 percent more efficient than a conventional drop hammer. DFI hammers deliver up to 100,000 foot pounds of downward force, and can be used to install all types of pipe piles, H-piles, sheet piles, or timber piles.

By building a customized fleet of piledriving units and equipment, DFI can tackle unique problems. A shortened set of leads for working under overhead lines or bridges, an auger attachment for frost pre-drilling, a vibratory extractor for removing piles-all developed and fabricated by DFI.