Most Common Excavator Attachments

An excavator is a heavy-duty construction machine, used for digging holes, trenches and for moving large items from one location to another. It is consisted of two main parts: a base which can be tracked or wheeled, and a hydraulic boom which is used for digging. The operator controls the excavator from the cabin which is attached on the base. There are many excavator models on the market, and they come with specific configuration and specifications. The excavators are described as versatile and flexible machines that can be used for a variety of tasks. Their versatility comes from the fact that there are different excavator attachments for completing different kinds of jobs. 

The modern hydraulic excavators use various attachments for performing different tasks not just the traditional bucket-related jobs. Today, many excavators are designed with coupling mechanisms. These mechanisms facilitate the use of different excavator attachments. The most common excavator attachments which can be found on the market are: buckets, breakers, blades, augers, and grapples. 

The excavator buckets are the traditional attachments. Most excavator models are originally designed with a metal bucket. This attachment is usually mounted on the arm of the excavator and has the same volume as the blade. When equipped with a metal excavator bucket, the machine is generally used for digging and excavating jobs. Many excavators today come with a blade or back-fill attachment. This is a metal, horizontal plate which is attached to the undercarriage of the excavator. The back-fill excavator attachments are used for leveling or pushing sand and soil. 

The breakers are another useful excavator attachments. As the name suggests, these devices are used for breaking or demolishing concrete and other solid structures. These excavator attachments require additional operating system that comes with special foot operated valve. Operators use breakers for areas where the standard jackhammer cannot be used. These breakers are also known as hoe arms. 

Special attachments known as grapples are used for logging operations. The grapple is described as a claw like attachment which is hydraulically operated. These excavator attachments usually come with two levers which are used for pinching logs so that they can be moved form one location to another. The grapples are attached to the excavator by a moveable arm which can be rotated and extended. Grapples are also used for lifting and moving pipes or poles. 

The augers are hydraulically powered excavator attachments which are used for drilling holes for pipes or poles. These attachments come with different dimensions and lengths. Excavators equipped with augers are commonly used for road construction projects, and for the installation of gas or water lines.  

The Purpose Of Using Mining Excavator At Mining Sites

The mining sites require powerful and strong machines that can dig and move different kinds of materials quickly and efficiently. In my opinion, the mining excavator is one of the most commonly used mining machines. This excavator model is similar to the standard excavators which are used in the construction sector, but it is more powerful and it is used for handling extremely hard and difficult surface materials. 

Click here to learn what the mining excavator can do on the mining site.

Purpose Of Using Long Reach Excavator

The long reach excavator is described as highly efficient and powerful machine, used for digging deep trenches and holes. In my opinion, the long reach excavator and the tracked backhoe loader are the most commonly used machines on every major construction or mining site.

Click here to see what this excavating machine can do on the jib site

What To Consider When Choosing Wheeled Excavator

The wheeled excavator is a flexible and versatile machine, with a very efficient and reliable operation. Since they are very popular and efficient, the contractors may face a wide range of wheeled excavator models, requiring to do a deeper and extensive research. When buying a wheeled excavator, you must make sure that its specification will meet the requirements of the application. You have a broad range of factors to consider, such as weight, capacity, outreach, size, tail swing, auxiliary hydraulics, shape, horsepower, breakout force, attachments and many more. Whether renting or buying, you need to make sure that the specifications of the wheeled excavator matches up to the application.

The first consideration is to make sure that the wheeled excavator you are about to buy or rent has enough capacity to lift the materials you need. Also, the auxiliary hydraulics are required to run a variety of attachments. Most operators purchase a wheeled excavator with 3 to 5 attachments and the most common are a hydraulic thumb, a bucket and a breaker. The attachments are very important if you plan to use the excavator on a daily basis, so consider which ones you want included. The transportation is not an issue with the wheeled excavator, since it has its own wheels to get whenever is needed.

The size and weight of the wheeled excavator are also important factors you should consider. To do so, you can specify the type of application or range of applications. The tail swing must be accounted and must be reduced, if the application gets the wheeled excavator close to the material. And of course, you should consider the comfort in the cabin, of which the productivity depends to a significant extent. It may seem simple, but to choose a cabin that suits the application best, with correctly positioned door, stairway and great field of visibility and provides you with comfort in the same time, is very difficult.

When choosing a wheeled excavator you should not only look on horsepower, because there are many more important factors to consider. There are some wheeled excavator models with less horsepower than another one, but perform much better because of its hydraulic system. Unfortunately, many contractors are not aware of that that and go for a wheeled excavator with a big amount of horsepower. If you have not made your decision yet, consider all these factors mentioned above and you will have the best wheeled excavator.

Long-Reach Excavators Benefit Industrial & Scrap Metal Demolition

Long reach excavator is a valuable piece of construction equipment with increasingly bigger role for industrial demolition works. Many demolition projects can not be solved with explosives and demolishing piece by piece is a time consumer. However, the long reach excavator and its incredible capacities can help the industrial demolition workers bring any building down with total control and great accuracy. The versatility of the long reach excavator as a demolition  tool is widely accepted, as you may see many workers who have replaced the bucket with a shearing or crushing component to enhance the efficiency of industrial and scrap metal demolition projects.

But what is a long reach excavator and why it can be very beneficial for the industrial and scrap metal demolition? It is a specific type of excavator, able to extend horizontally and reach incredible heights. The long reach excavator is very suitable for scrap metal demolition, since it is capable of reaching into a site from greater distance and operate with the boom. It may seem that from longer distance is more difficult to operate an excavator, but the long reach excavator offers a complete control over the movements of the excavator and operates with precision.

Operators have the control over these excavators and where the debris falls. By operating from longer distance from the demolition job, not only the operators remain safe, but all the surrounding buildings and rest of the crew. Since the long reach excavator releases less particulate matter in the exhaust, it provides the operators with lower fuel consumption of up to 25% and no recirculation of gas in the engine. For additional versatility, the long reach excavator is attachments supportive, so it can be used for scooping, cutting, crushing, picking, loading, pinching, hammering and many more. Also, the length arm can be adjusted by the operator's requirement for maximized efficiency.

The most common attachment of the long reach excavator for industrial and scrap metal demolition jobs is the grapple. A long reach excavator with a grapple allows scrap metal demolition workers to pick and lift a variety of materials. However, as any long reach excavator, each grapple comes with its own lifting capacity, on which the operators need to pay attention. There are few types of grapples, but the two most common are clamshell and orange peel grapple. The clamshell grapple is most suitable for rugged demolition, while the orange peel grapple, looking like a claw with its four “fingers”, is ideal for general purposes.

Mining Trends: Caterpillar Hybridizes the Excavator

Caterpillar is a globally known manufacturer of high quality construction machines and equipment. The excavators form Caterpillar are some of the finest on the market because they stand for durability, powerful performance and excellent results. Few years ago, this American manufacturer stated the production of hybrid machines. In my opinion, Caterpillar was the first manufacturer in the world who included a hybrid technology in its machines. Today, Caterpillar offers many hybrid machines on the market, and the Caterpillar excavators are definitely the most popular among the contractors all around the world. 

Originally posted here:
http://www.trendhunter.com.au/mining-trends-caterpillar-hybridizes-the-excavator/

How to Operate a Mini Excavator

You though that operating a mini excavator is just as easy as playing with toys just because there is “mini” in its name? You are wrong. Operating a 3 tonne excavator is very requiring job position, because it is a part of the construction business. Click here if you are interested in few tips on operating a mini excavator.