Archives: History
First Double Shield Tunnel Boring Machine
The contractor for the project, SELI, needed a TBM solution that would protect workers in broken ground and provide a rapid rate of advance, while simultaneously lining the tunnel. To fit their need, Robbins invented the Double Shield TBM.
First Successful Use of Disc Cutters
Before 1956, TBMs had never been used to excavate rock. The crystalline limestone on the project was too hard for the drag bits being used on machines at the time. So, Robbins invented the rolling disc cutter and the contractor succeeded in boring the first rock tunnel ever.
Recent Posts
- Use of a Tunnel Boring Machine on Nepal’s First and Second TBM-Driven Tunnels
- Robbins Double Shield Sets Record in Nepal
- Final Breakthrough at Bahçe-Nurdaği Railway
- Record-Setting Large Diameter Mixed Ground Tunneling in Turkey: The Eşme-Salihli Railway Tunnel
- Lessons Learned During Excavation of the Incredibly Challenging Yin Han Ji Wei Water Diversion Tunnel