In DTH drilling, the percussion mechanism – commonly called the hammer – is located directly above the drill bit. The drill pipes transmit the necessary feed force and rotation to the hammer and the bit, along with the fluid (air, water or drilling mud) used to actuate the hammer and flush the cuttings. The drill pipes are added to the drill string successively behind the hammer as the hole gets deeper.
[pdf] The first offshore mobile drilling platform was the Breton Rig 20, first operated in 1949. This rig had evolved from the inland drilling barges which were used to drill in marshes and protected waters in up to 10 feet of water. The Breton Rig 20 was 160 feet by 85 feet, and could work in 20 feet water depth.
[pdf] By Mac Nehring Times have changed. When purchasing a drill rig it used to be a simple, pain-free process at your local community bank, but it can now turn into hours of paperwork, frustrating phone calls, coun.
[pdf] 
