Heavy impact, smart control

Editor's Choice

IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

January 2026 Editor's Choice Pneumatics & Hydraulics

Every now and then, a project lands on your desk that’s equal parts heavy machinery and fine control - a tantalising mix for any engineer. A client approached Axiom Hydraulics with a project exactly like this. They required a complete hydraulic and electronic control system for a 5 ton drop hammer used to break iron ore. On paper, this should be simple: lift hammer, drop hammer, and repeat. In practice, getting a 5 ton mass to run reliably and safely inside a 7 metre vertical tube takes a lot more than gravity.

The team at Axiom Hydraulics got straight to work in defining the ‘muscle’ that would be needed and designing the ‘brain’ that would control it. We supplied the hydraulic motor, the custom manifold block and the entire control system for the 5 ton drop hammer. For the drive, the Black Bruin BB6 motor was the obvious choice with its high torque and smooth rotation. It is built to handle the constant cycling without turning itself into scrap. We knew that only a Black Bruin motor could take care of lifting this hammer hundreds of times a day.

The manifold block was designed by our engineers and manufactured in-house by our expert CNC machinists. The manifold was built with SUN Hydraulics valves, and manages everything from load control to pressure protection. Counterbalance valves handle overrunning load conditions, directional valves manage movement, the accumulator charge valve keeps energy available, and relief valves are there so that nothing expensive becomes a projectile. It’s a neat, compact block that holds the system steady, even in the toughest conditions.

For the control unit, we used ifm hardware comprising a 25 cm HMI, I/O modules and an absolute encoder to track the hammer position inside the tube. The software is straightforward, but effective, with three operating modes:

• Manual: Operator jogs the hammer up or down from the HMI.

• Strike: System lifts the hammer to the top, holds position, switches the motor to freewheel, releases brakes and lets gravity do the work.

• Stop: Everything shuts down safely.

The handover between motor lifting and gravity dropping is where things normally get messy. The control logic keeps that transition clean and repeatable, so every strike lands the way it should.

This system spends its life in dust, vibration and heat with constant cycling. All components were sized for durability, and the controls were designed so the operator gets repeatable performance without needing to ‘babysit’ the hammer.

From sizing the motor to designing the manifold to building and commissioning the control system, Axiom Hydraulics delivered a complete integrated solution that does the heavy work with the right amount of intelligence.

This hammer drop system was genuinely a very rewarding project to work on. It brought together everything we enjoy as engineers – hydraulics, mechanical design and a fair amount of electronics. It wasn’t just a plug-and-play solution either. Between the design work, simulation, testing and inevitable fault-finding, the team spent many late days (and a few late nights) getting the system to behave exactly the way we wanted.

The end result is a setup that doesn’t just hit hard, it thinks for itself. Smart control, consistent impact energy, safer operation and a lot more reliability than a purely mechanical system. It was a challenge, but the kind Axiom thrives on: real engineering with real results.

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Editor's Choice

Heavy impact, smart control

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