Excavators come in different sizes and shapes – although, at first glance, we’d call them scary looking vehicles with lots of arms, they can be called in for many types of jobs. They are used in activities ranging from construction to mining. Basically, they’re a boon to civil engineering. In this article, we’ll take a look at the different types of excavators there are and the various ways they can be useful. So, read on as we bring you five different types of excavators:
1. Power Shovels
Power shovels come into use in the mining and land drilling fields of work. They can be extremely powerful and are thus used, to cut deep holes into rock surfaces and pierce through the ground. They consist of a revolving device, a crane with a lifting arm and a bucket, counter weight and maneuvering controls. Power shovels are alternatively referred to as power or stripping shovels. This is the kind you’d get in underground building projects and in coal mines or diamond mines. You may also find them in use with your local municipality!
2. Backhoe
The most commonly used among excavators, the backhoe is a workhorse. Like most other excavators, it’s primary use is in construction purpose. The term backhoe is coined due to the action of the shovel – it digs into the earth backwards. These excavators generally use their devices through a hydraulic system, allowing larger and greater loads to be lifted by the system. Backhoes can be used to effectively clear out snow and ice from surfaces. That is why, most icy airports require their services in the colder months to clean runways. In warmer days, you could have them dig out large mounds and clear garbage from the dumps in your cities. It’s not that they do just the dirty work – they are really useful as gardening cultivators too!
3. Dragline
Draglines are interesting excavators actually. They are long crane looking objects that can excavate surfaces or mediums which lie at a distance. They function mainly on two ropes – the drag rope and the hoist rope. A bucket at the end serves as the carrier of the extracted medium. You will find such excavators mounted on dredgers and other ships which collect river silt. They are most commonly found in the desilting or construction supply market. Although most draglines have a very high operational cost, the excavator costs are minimal. Newer draglines are being programmed to be automated.
4. Suction Excavators
Suction excavators are used exactly as they are named. You could call them very large vacuum pumps. They mostly have a very long pipe, which is also very wide. This pipe can suck up a huge amount of waste from a surface at a very high speed – the entry speed of the substances into the chamber may be 100mph – yeah, that fast. Suction excavators remove earth around pre – buried objects or even tree roots without causing much damage to the surroundings. However, the speed and the work power of this machine makes it impossible to use in archaeological excavations. They’d do more harm than good!
5. Crawler Excavators
Lastly, we’ll tell you about them crawlers. They are basically a mix between a number of other excavators. They use hydraulics to work and are reportedly one of the highest capacity excavators that are out there. As a result, they are put to use in heavy duty jobs like mining. They can be effectively used on hilly areas for landscaping and constructing roads where it’s impossible to do so. Crawlers have track chains for the wheel system, giving them a versatile framework and a wonderful grip. Interested? Look for some used crawler excavators here.
Excavators are useful things. They help us do all the digging and removing with little effort. It is no surprise then, that their use has dominated the civil engineering industry. They are extremely maneuverable and thus, do all the work efficiently. This was our list of five types of these wonderful machines. If you’ve read it full, the next time you notice an excavator, you’ll probably be able to tell the difference.
