North Dakota Excavator Parts - Excavators are instrumental for completing building projects on time and on budget. They are extremely efficient in moving and transporting heavy loads within minutes. This industrial equipment is used in many industries including road work, bridge building, landscaping, construction and architecture. While tracked models are sometimes known as trackhoes, excavators go by many names including mechanical shovels, diggers and 360-degree excavators. Excavators can be equipped with numerous attachments to facilitate a range of jobs including grading and landscaping, demolition with a cutter, breaker and hydraulic saw attachments, material handling, river dredging, forestry, construction, open-pit mining, regular mining, driving piles when working with a pile driver, digging holes, foundations and trenches, snow removal with snowplow and snowblower attachments, drilling for rock blasting and footings with hydraulic auger attachment or drill, mulching for forestry and more.
An excavator is a popular kind of heavy construction equipment made up of particular parts. The dipper, boom, cab and bucket are situated on top of a rotating platform called the house. The house is located on top of an undercarriage that features either wheels or tracks. The steam shovels of yesterday have transformed into today’s excavators. Today’s hydraulic excavating models use hydraulic fluid to complete all functions and movement. The linear actuation on the hydraulic cylinders makes them differ from cable-operated excavators that rely on winches or steel ropes.
Excavator Models
There are numerous sizes and models when it comes to hydraulic excavators. Compact and tiny models weigh in around two thousand pounds. The largest models conversely fall into the two million pound category.
Modern hydraulic excavators rely on engine power to operate three hydraulic pumps as opposed to mechanical drivetrain operations. Two pumps deliver high-pressure oil for the accessories, swing motor, track motors and arms. The third low-pressure pump supplies power for pilot control of the spool valves. This setup enables less physical effort required for the operating controls. The three pumps that are in an excavator are often the two variable displacement piston pumps and the gear pump. These three pumps can be found in the excavator in numerous configurations depending on different manufacturer models.
The House and the Undercarriage
The house and the undercarriage make up the two main portions of the machine. The final drives with a hydraulic motor and subsequent gears to individual tracks the blade, track frame and tracks are considered undercarriage components. The house features the engine, hydraulic oil tanks fuel, counterweight and the operator cab. A center pin connects the undercarriage to the house. A hydraulic swivel located at the pin axis supplies high-pressure oils to the hydraulic motors’ tracks. This setup enables the machine to traverse 360 degrees freely.
The house is available in a variety of configurations and is attached to the main boom. Mono booms are among the most common. This kind of boom offers zero movement other than up and down motions The knuckle boom enables the machine to move right and left in line. Typically an option on compact excavators, the booms’ base has a hinge option that enables it to pivot one-hundred and eighty degrees independently to the house. There are triple articulated booms available on specific machines.
A dipper arm is attached to the end of the boom. This arm creates the necessary digging force to drag the bucket through the ground. The length of the stick is optional depending on whether breakout power or reach is necessary. Longer stick models are utilized for reach applications, while shorter sticks are used for breakout power situations. At the end of the stick, the bucket is attached. A mud bucket describes a large, wide capacity bucket that has a straight cutting edge used for leveling and cleanup or wherever teeth are not needed. General-purpose bucket designs commonly are used to break up hard ground and difficult rocks, with their side cutters and hardened teeth that are typically smaller and stronger. There are different buckets available in numerous sizes for a variety of applications. There are many attachments used for crushing, boring, cutting, lifting, ripping and more.
Before the 1990s, the excavating machines were outfitted with a conventional counterweight that was located at the back of the equipment. This was in place to add more lifting capacity and digging force. This design was not ideal for working in confined locations. Today’s machines have been designed with the counterweight to stay in the width of the tracks for a much more user-friendly design.
The SAE and the ISO are the two types of control configuration used to operate the boom and the bucket. These types of control configuration disperse the four top digging controls between two different x-y joysticks, enabling an experienced operator to have simultaneous control of all four functions. Some models have switches that enable the operator to choose which configuration they prefer.
Hydraulic excavator jobs have surpassed bucket and excavation tasks. Many attachments including an auger, a grapple or a breaker have become common hydraulic powered attachments. There are models that offer a quick coupler feature to simplify attachment mounting and increase efficiency. Excavators commonly work alongside bulldozers and loaders. Most of the compact-sized excavator models have wheels and a backfill or dozer blade. The horizontal dozer blade attaches to the machines’ undercarriage. It is commonly employed for leveling and pushing items into a hole.
8 Main Excavator Types
• Long Reach
• Backhoe
• Suction
• Steam Shovel
• Bucket Wheel
• Skid Steer
• Dragline
• Crawler
Steam Shovel
One of the first kinds of excavators were steam shovels. They utilized steam energy back in the day, while current models rely on diesel or electric motors. Steam shovels resemble backhoes with the shovel or bucket facing away from the machine as opposed to towards the unit. This enables the operator to shove dirt away from the machine instead of pulling earth towards it. Steam shovels are used for digging around objects that may interfere with a typical backhoe.
Backhoe
One of the most well-known types of excavators is backhoes. Backhoes contain a large bucket that extends from a boom or an arm and a wheeled track base. The bucket faces the operator cab and enables the operator to scoop earth toward the equipment. These machines come in multiple sizes including compact residential models suitable for backyard applications up to heavy-duty versions used in bridge building and dredging waterways. The smaller models enable operators to work in tiny spaces; however, this translates to approximately a 200-degree swiveling capacity for digging close to the machine.
Dragline Excavator
A dragline excavator resembles a backhoe and includes various cables and lines to facilitate the bucket pulling motion. The dragline allows operators to reach farther and dig deeper in comparison to a regular backhoe. The cable and booms let users work over wet or unstable ground and in difficult locations unattainable by regular models.
Skid Steer Excavators
Skid steers have buckets and booms that face away from the operator. This design allows attachments to reach over the cab as opposed to around it. This design makes skid steers useful for negotiating tight turns and narrow locations. These machines often complete residential jobs such a digging pools, site cleaning and working in limited surroundings while removing debris.
Suction Excavator
The suction excavator looks similar to a dump truck and relies on vacuum technology and a large hose to suck earth and rocks out of the ground. The material is transferred back to the truck. The suction excavator ensures a safer environment for digging around equipment and underground pipes compared to typical backhoes.
Crawler Excavators
Crawlers don’t rely on wheels, they run on two tracks. These machines are used in construction and mining operations. Also called compact excavators, these machines rely on hydraulic power components to lift heavy soil and debris. The chain wheel configuration allows the machine to traverse down hills with less risk, making them an ideal candidate for hilly locations and tricky terrain. Crawlers are slower in speed compared to other models but offer superior balance, flexibility and stability.
Long Reach Excavators
The long reach excavator showcases lengthier boom and arm components. They are ideal for hard-to-reach areas. The extendable arm offers more than 100 feet of horizontal reach. These machines are often used for demolition in applications working over a body of water. Numerous attachments can be attached to the arm to complete jobs including shearing, crushing and cutting.
Bucket Wheel Excavator
These excavators function with a large front wheel with built-in buckets and shovels. Dirt and rocks are scooped up within the buckets as the wheel rotates. The material is transferred to a conveyor belt that is part of the machine. The belt transfers the material into a bin that may be separate from the model or a part of the machine.