Excavator-Mounted Drilling Rigs: How They Work and When to Use One
October 10, 2026
An excavator-mounted drilling rig replaces an excavator's standard bucket or attachment with a drilling mast and rotary or percussive drive, turning an excavator you may already own into a drill rig. Instead of buying and maintaining a separate carrier chassis, the drilling package bolts onto a 20–30 ton excavator you already run on site.
Why Mount a Drill on an Excavator?
Quarries, mines and construction sites already run excavator fleets for earthmoving. An excavator-mounted rig reuses that same carrier for drilling work, which cuts the capital cost of a dedicated rig and lets one machine do two jobs across a project's lifecycle.
KLR Universal's Excavator-Mounted Rigs
EA-20|30 — DTH Drilling
The EA-20|30 mounts a DTH (Down-the-Hole) hammer on a 20–30 ton excavator — Sany, Tata Hitachi, Volvo and Hyundai carriers are all supported, or a customer's own machine on request. It drills 4″ to 16″ diameter holes, with an optional dust collector or water injection for quarry and mine sites where dust control matters.
THA-20|30 — Top Hammer Drilling
The THA-20|30 uses the same 20–30 ton excavator carrier but drives a top hammer instead of a DTH hammer — the percussive mechanism sits above the rock rather than at the bit. It drills the same 4″ to 16″ diameter range, with the same dust suppression options.
DTH or Top Hammer — Which One?
The choice comes down to rock conditions, the same trade-off that applies to any DTH-versus-top-hammer decision: DTH drills faster and straighter in harder, more abrasive rock, since the hammer strikes the rock directly at the bit. Top hammer suits shallower benching and general quarrying work where that direct-impact advantage matters less.
Where These Rigs Are Used
Both configurations are built for quarrying, mining and construction site drilling — anywhere a site already runs excavators and wants to add drilling capability without a dedicated rig. See the full surface mining and quarrying range for the rest of KLR Universal's lineup in this category.
