Hydraulic Excavator is a marvelous invention for the construction and mining industry. These are heavy equipment consisting of a Boom, Dipper (or stick), Bucket, and Cab on a rotating platform known as the “house”. Prominent manufacturers of this product are TATA HITACHI, JCB, Volvo, HYUNDAI, Komatsu etc. Excavators may be classified into three categories, on the basis of its weight – Large Excavator, Midi Excavator and Mini Excavator.
A Mini Excavator also called Compact Excavator is of size 0-6 MT but within the class 3-4 MT, Mini Excavators are the most popular. These models are extremely versatile and used for in-building work, sewer repairs, water line installs and foundational repair. It has the advantage of its size for easy access.
A Midi excavator is of size 6MT-10MT. This size more or less digs and lifts like a standard excavator but has the advantage in transportation and job site access. This class finds use in building construction, roads and bridges and landscaping.
A large Excavator or Hydraulic Excavator is the widely used excavator available on the market today. It is of size range 10MT – 90MT. The highest volume of machines sold into the industry range from 19 – 24 metric tons, and 33-40 metric tons. Hydraulic Excavators have a wide variety of uses thanks to the many attachments available
- Digging of holes, trenches, foundations
- Material handling
- Forestry work
- Construction
- Demolition with hydraulic claw, cutter and breaker attachments
- General grading/landscaping
- Mining,
- River dredging
The characteristics one has to keep in mind while selecting the proper Excavator are:
- Transportation and access
- Digging depth
- Long reach boom configuration.
- Lifting capacity
- Bucket capacity
- Couplers- the scope of attachments.
- Think hydraulically – the power of the machine
- Understand counterweights –that boost lifting and operating capacities.
- Advanced technology- efficiency and productivity