Many different types of excavators are available on the market, each with unique capabilities and features. Knowing which type of excavator best suits your needs is essential to getting the most out of this powerful piece of machinery. This article will look at the different types of excavators and explain what makes them unique. We’ll also highlight some applications for which each type is best suited. Read on whether you’re looking for an excavator hire for your next project or want to learn more about these machines.
Let’s start by first understanding what an excavator is.
What Is An Excavator?
An excavator is an earth-moving construction vehicle made up of a dipper, boom, bucket, and cab mounted on the rotating house. Excavators may also have tracks instead of wheels, making them well-suited for digging and other earth-moving tasks. Let’s briefly describe the components of the excavator;
Boom – The boom is the long arm of the excavator that gives it its digging power.
Dipper – On the other hand, the dipper is the shorter arm that supports the bucket.
Cab – The operator sits in the cab to control the excavator’s functions.
Bucket – The bucket is attached to the end of the dipper and is used for scooping up earth and debris.
Rotating house -To give the excavator its 360-degree range of motion, the entire cab sits on a rotating platform (known as the house). Excavators can rotate their cabs a full 360 degrees, which gives them excellent maneuverability. You can also fit these machines with various attachments, including thumb picks, grapples, breakers, and shears.
Now that we’ve got a basic understanding of excavators let’s look at the different types available on the market.
Crawler Excavators
This vehicle derives its name from its two rotating tracks for mobility.
The undercarriage of a crawler excavator consists of two steel tracks (also called rails) connected to the Excavator house by a series of rollers. This design makes them very stable, essential when lifting heavy loads or performing precision work.
Also known as the standard excavator, these vehicles are well suited for working on uneven terrain. Some of the applications for which crawler excavators are commonly used include:
– Mining
– Trenching
– Landscape grading
The main drawback of crawler excavators is that they are slow.
Wheeled Excavators
As the name suggests, these excavators have wheels instead of tracks.
While this design makes them more mobile, it also makes them less stable than crawler excavators. As a result, they are not as well suited for working on uneven terrain or soft soils.
However, wheeled excavators are much faster than their tracked counterparts and can be used on paved, or asphalt surfaces quite well.
Power Shovels
The power shovel, also known as the hydraulic shovel, is equipped with a crane-like boom and bucket. It is primarily used for mining projects like digging and loading coal or other projects requiring intense digging or heavy lifting. The disadvantage of this machine is that, most often than not, it’s too big for general contractors and is mainly used in large-scale mining operations.
Suction Excavators
When you need precision excavation, a suction excavator is a machine for the job. Its design consists of a large pump that sucks loose soil and debris into a holding tank. The advantage of this type of excavator is that it causes very little disturbance to the surrounding area, making it perfect for delicate work environments like construction sites adjacent to live utilities.
The disadvantage of suction excavators is that they are not well suited for large projects or tasks that require large-scale excavation since their suction pipe only measures 30 centimeters in diameter.
Skid Steers
A skid steer is well suited for small projects that require nimble maneuverability. With its forward-facing bucket, this machine is perfect for digging, hauling, and grading tasks. Skid steers are versatile and can be equipped with various attachments depending on the task. For instance, a grapple bucket can be used for demolition work and is perfect for clearing snow-covered areas.
Excavators are vital equipment for many projects such as construction and mining. They come in a variety of types and sizes to suit different applications. Excavators can have either tracks or wheels, and some have cabs that rotate 360 degrees for maneuverability. Excavators are also equipped with a bucket for scooping up earth and debris, and you can also fit them with various attachments depending on the task at hand. No matter what your excavation needs may be, there is an excavator out there that is perfect for the job.
