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Ring Workflow

A detailed walkthrough of the BlastCAD underground ring blast design process. The Ring Wizard is a two-step modal that covers surface selection, baseline assignment, ring placement, and drill hole design.

Launching the Ring Wizard

Click Ring Design in the Canvas Toolbar. The Ring Wizard opens as a full-screen panel with two steps:

  • Step 1 — Place Rings (Setup sub-tab, Baseline sub-tab, Rings sub-tab, Long Section canvas)
  • Step 2 — Drill Section Editor (full-screen cross-section view for hole geometry design)

The wizard does not close the 3D canvas — you can switch between the wizard and the 3D view at any time.

Step 1A — Setup

The Setup sub-tab configures the surface geometry and rig constraints that govern the entire ring design.

DTM Surface Selection

Assign a DTM surface to each role:

Role Description
Collar DTM Surface where drill holes begin — typically the drive floor. Used to snap the baseline elevation.
Target DTM Surface the holes must reach — the stope hanging wall or ore contact. Defines the toe endpoint for each hole.
Drive DTM Outline of the drive cross-section. Used to draw the ring profile in the Ring Section View.
Stope DTM Stope envelope — used for proximity checking and overbreak prevention.

Select each DTM from the dropdown (populated from imported surfaces in the current project). A surface must be imported first — see Data Exchange for import instructions.

You can assign the same DTM to multiple roles. For example, if you only have one surface representing the stope boundary, it can serve as both Target and Stope.

Rig Selection

Choose the drill rig from the Rig Database. The selected rig controls:

  • Minimum and maximum achievable hole length
  • Minimum and maximum dip angle
  • Pivot height (height of the rig rotation point above the drive floor)
  • Carousel feed distance (clearance needed for rod changes)

Once a rig is selected and the Drive DTM is assigned, the wizard automatically snaps the baseline elevation to:

baseline Z = drive floor elevation + rig.pivot_height_default

This ensures all hole trajectories originate at the physically correct pivot position.

Burden and Dump Angle

Parameter Description
Burden (m) Distance between consecutive rings along the drive. Typical: 1.0 – 3.5 m.
Dump Angle (°) Tilt of the ring plane relative to perpendicular to the baseline. Positive = ring tilts forward (toward the advancing face). Compensates for the direction of advance.
First Ring Offset (m) Distance from the baseline start point to the first ring position.

Step 1B — Baseline

The baseline is a 3D polyline that defines the central drilling axis — the path the drill rig follows through the drive.

How to Set the Baseline

The baseline comes from a CAD polyline already drawn in the project. In the Baseline sub-tab:

  1. Select the baseline polyline from the Baseline dropdown. The dropdown lists all polyline entities in the current project.
  2. If no suitable polyline exists, close the wizard, draw a polyline along the drive centreline using the CAD Line or Polyline tool, then reopen the Ring Wizard.

Once selected, the baseline polyline is visualized in orange in the 3D viewport.

Baseline Geometry Requirements

  • The polyline must follow the drive centreline — not the wall or floor edge.
  • It must be a connected 3D polyline (no gaps between segments).
  • The polyline's direction vector at each point defines the normal plane in which the ring sits.
  • Elevation snapping (pivot height above Drive DTM) is applied automatically when a rig is selected.

Long Section Canvas

The Long Section canvas in the Setup/Baseline tabs provides a 2D longitudinal view along the drive. It shows:

  • The baseline profile (elevation vs chainage)
  • Ring positions as vertical tick marks along the baseline
  • Collar and Target DTM intersections (where available)

Use the Long Section to verify ring spacing and identify any elevation irregularities in the baseline before placing rings.

Step 1C — Rings

The Rings sub-tab manages the list of ring planes along the baseline.

Placing a Ring

Click Add Ring in the panel, or click on the baseline in the Long Section canvas at the desired chainage position. BlastCAD:

  1. Computes the tangent direction of the baseline at that chainage.
  2. Constructs a ring plane perpendicular to the baseline (modified by the dump angle).
  3. Assigns the ring a sequential name (e.g., RING_001, RING_002).
  4. Registers the ring with its position, normal vector, burden, and dump angle.

Managing Rings

Action How
Select a ring Click the ring name in the ring list
Rename a ring Click the pencil icon next to the ring name
Reorder rings Rings are ordered by their chainage position along the baseline
Delete a ring Click the trash icon next to the ring
Adjust burden Edit the burden field — moves the ring along the baseline
Adjust dump angle Edit the dump angle field for that ring

CSV Rings

If drill holes were imported from a CSV file with ring name labels (the ring column), these holes appear in the ring list automatically — they are detected by matching the ring field of holes in the store. These rings show an Edit button that opens the Drill Section Editor with those holes pre-loaded.

Step 2 — Drill Section Editor

The Drill Section Editor is a full-screen 2D cross-section view showing the ring face looking along the drive direction.

What You See

  • Ring face outline — derived from the Drive DTM cross-section at that ring chainage
  • Collar DTM line — where drill holes can start
  • Target DTM line — where drill holes should end
  • Existing holes — shown as collar-to-toe line segments within the ring face
  • Pivot point — the rig's rotation centre, displayed as a diamond marker at the correct elevation

Adding Holes Manually

  1. Click Create Hole in the Drill Section Editor toolbar.
  2. Click the collar point in the ring section (where the hole starts — typically snapped to the Collar DTM line).
  3. Click the toe point (where the hole ends — typically snapped to the Target DTM line).
  4. BlastCAD computes the dip, azimuth, 3D length, and dump angle automatically.
  5. The hole is added to the ring and appears immediately in the 3D viewport.

Applying Drill Templates

Drill Templates define a geometric arrangement of holes relative to the ring pivot. To apply:

  1. Click Apply Template in the Drill Section Editor.
  2. Select a template from the Drill Templates database.
  3. BlastCAD projects each template hole from the pivot point, applying rig constraints.

Template holes that violate rig constraints (too long, dip outside limits, carousel clearance failure) are flagged with red warnings.

Rig Constraint Checking

When holes are generated, BlastCAD validates each against:

Constraint Check
Min/Max hole length Rejects holes longer or shorter than the rig's capability
Min/Max dip angle Flags holes requiring impossible rig inclinations
Dump angle limits Validates ring dump angle against rig angular limits
Carousel clearance Checks that the rod change operation fits within the drive profile

Violations appear as red warnings in the Drill Section Editor and in the Command Terminal.

Editing Holes in the Section

  • Move a hole — Click and drag the collar or toe point in the section view.
  • Edit properties — Click a hole to select it; its parameters appear in the Properties Panel on the right.
  • Delete a hole — Select it and press Delete, or right-click → Delete.

Use the ring selector at the top of the Drill Section Editor to switch between rings without leaving the editor. The Long Section canvas updates to highlight the current ring.

Delay Assignment

After all rings and holes are placed, assign detonation delays:

  1. Exit the Ring Wizard (click Done or close the panel).
  2. Click Assign Delays in the top bar or the Canvas Toolbar.
  3. The Auto Tie-Up panel opens.
  4. Select the delay pattern (chevron, zigzag, or echelon) and configure increments.
  5. The live preview table shows resulting delays before you commit.
  6. Click Apply Tie-Up. Use Undo if needed.

Ring View — Cross-Section Inspection

Once all holes are designed, use the Ring View to inspect the completed blast geometry:

  1. Click Ring View in the Canvas Toolbar (or right-click a hole in the Explorer Panel → Open Ring View).
  2. The Ring View opens as a full-screen overlay showing each ring as a 2D cross-section.
  3. Navigate between rings with the left/right arrows or the ← / → keyboard keys.
  4. Switch view modes: Face (ring cross-section), Long Section (chainage vs elevation), Plan (top-down).
  5. Select individual holes to see their detailed geometry: dip, azimuth, 3D coordinates (Mine Grid E/N/RL), charge data.
  6. Optionally overlay the drive shape by selecting a CAD polyline or DTM cross-section as the Drive Shape reference.
  7. Press F to auto-fit the current view to the ring extents.

Visualizing the Completed Design

Once all rings and holes are placed:

  • Switch to 3D view to inspect the full blast geometry.
  • Toggle Show Ring Lines in Display Settings to see ring plane boundaries.
  • Toggle Show Delay Labels to verify the firing sequence visually.
  • Open Statistics to run the blast analytics report.
  • Use the Proximity Circle Editor in the Charge Panel to verify burdens.
  • Run Blast Animation to simulate the detonation sequence.