Directional boring, commonly called horizontal directional drilling or HDD, utilizes a surface launched drilling rig and electronic locating devices to steer a drilling tool along a prescribed path consisting of a shallow arc. It is a trenchless method for installing infrastructure such as telecommunications, power, water, sewer, gas, oil, product pipelines, and environmental remediation casings. HDD is suitable for a variety of soil conditions and because it eliminates the need to dig a trench, it falls under the broad industry headings of “Trenchless Technology” and “No-Dig” underground construction.

Locate the drill head

Location and guidance of the drilling tool is a very important part of the HDD operation, as the tool is under the ground and not visible.

A typical HDD locating system consists of three things : a transmitter (sonde, beacon, or probe), a receiver (hand held locator), and a remote display for the drill operator. The transmitter is positioned in a housing behind the tool; it registers angle, rotation, direction, and temperature data. This information is encoded onto an electro-magnetic signal that is detected and decoded by the hand held locator at the surface.