Pro Vehicles

Excavators

Excavators are engineering vehicles that have been designed out of their predecessor, the steam shovel. This vehicle has the following major parts:

  • Articulated arm (boom)
  • Undercarriage
  • Wheels or tracks
  • Bucket
  • Pivot (which operates pretty much like a Lazy Susan)

Other terms for an excavator are:

  • Track hoes (excavators that have tracks instead of wheels)
  • 360-degree excavator or simply 360
  • Digger
  • Front hoe

Excavators are typically used to:

  • Demolish houses
  • Dig trenches, holes and foundations
  • Handle heavy materials
  • Cutting brush (with the use of hydraulic attachments)
  • Placing pipes
  • Mining
  • Landscaping
  • Grading
  • River-dredging

Other types of excavators include:

  • Link-belt
  • Drag line
  • Steam shovels
  • Skid steers

Many of these models are now sold online and can be bought brand new or in a refurbished state.

Expansion on Excavator Parts

There have been recent improvements and additions when it comes to excavator attachments, namely:

  • Bucket
  • Auger
  • Grapple
  • Breaker

The easy-attach mounting systems for most excavators have simplified many jobs and have also increased the uses of the machine. When an excavator is used together with bulldozers or loaders, more construction work can be accomplished.

Excavators come in many sizes. The smaller versions (called mini-excavators or compact excavators) have the following specifications:

  • Width of 70 cm or 28 inches
  • Weight of 1,470 kg or 3,240 lbs
  • Bucket size is only 0.036 cubic meters

The largest model that has been built has the following specifications:

  • Weight of 84,980 kg (187,360 lbs)
  • Bucket size of 4.5 cubic meters or 5.9 cubic yards

There are many excavator manufacturers and there are equally numerous brand names for these machines. In the UK, following brand names are trusted:

  • CAT (Caterpillar)
  • Kubota
  • JCB (a British brand name)
  • Hitachi
  • Komatsu
  • Volvo
  • Daewoo

These names all spell quality and durability, hence, they are the leading names when it comes to excavator sales.

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