Construction Machine Blog

The usual track excavator is a common machine used for logging and construction industry. On the steeper grounds, the operator will need to bench on the slope to be able to gain access for them to ensure their safety. Though, this process not desirable always because of some instances when the stability of the slope is concerned.

Spider excavator is a type of excavator which has the ability to walk and perform task in all terrain places. It has 4 legs and it can able to walk like a spider on steep slopes without the need of constructing large benches and it will not create any undue disturbances on the ground. It will only produce a ground compaction from the base of its spider-like legs.

The spider hoe or the legs uses the buckets for walking in to the rough terrain. The bucket is tightly placed at the slope downward the machine; the front legs that are located below the wheels at the back are lifted as the telescopic arm trusting the machine up to the hill through its wheels.

The operator gives power for driving as he increases the tension of the winch. Due to the rough terrain, the wheels must be adjusted continuously so that the operator can stabilize the spider hoe horizontally. Every single movement of the machine is adjusted by the operator manually; it is possible to apply for up to 8 functions simultaneously using the joy sticks and the pedals for the safety operation of the machine.

It is also equipped with a hydrostatic rubber tires for its traveling for the speed of 6kph when in flatter grounds. Spider like legs is able to step over the small tress and can over obstacles for as high as 2 meters.

Larger spider excavator machines have 8,100kg operating weight and with excavating performance of 15,000kg. The long stick of the machine can reach 26 feet from the center when it is fully extended. Boom is connected nearby the center of the machine which has gravity for allowing excellent torque.

The spider excavator can simply straddle the trench by making use of its own weight, optimizing its ability by digging hole under itself. Prepared with thumb and twisting wrist for the bucket which adds to the versatility of the machine.

In addition, because of its light weight and high performance characteristics, the spider hoe is ideal for using the helicopter to transfer the machine to the remote sites, fully equipped with fuel and already on the go for work.

Asif Latief, marketing director at A-Plant, said: “This is a fantastic example of stolen plant being recovered and it shows that thieves cannot beat the system even when they take machines abroad.

“Over 95% of stolen A-Plant equipment protected with A-Trak is recovered, which is a remarkable statistic considering that the industry average of stolen plant recovery is only 5-10%.”

The head of PANIU, DC Ian Elliott, said: “A-Trak is an excellent system and it helps make policing so much easier when it comes to recovering stolen plant. This system makes a real difference to us and the benefits to police are significant – we are now able to pinpoint exact movements and locations of machines and actually arrest the criminals responsible.

“With A-Trak, A-Plant is able to protect their customers’ interests and save all their on-costs for the loss of equipment.”

This is no ordinary tractor. Nor is it an ordinary Fiat. Not by a long shot.

Japanese ironsmith Kogoro Kurata custom built this bulldozer from an old Fiat 500 body and caterpillar tracks, which can only reach a speed of 3 km/h. It may move at the pace of a snail, but I wouldn’t mind using this beast to shovel my driveway (in style) this come winter.

People are always seeking the most effective and efficient way to get things done, which can also be proved by the birth of mini excavators. It is traditionally regarded that the greater its weight is, the more powerful the excavator becomes and thus the better it is. That is why excavators used to appear very big and heavy. However, later on, people find these big ones are inconvenient for moving. And in most cases, a less powerful but much lighter can also get the task done well. As a result, mini excavators come into existence. These machines are so versatile you can do just about any type of construction work with them – from using a hammer to break up concrete to digging holes for landscape work.

Mini  Excavators

What can Mini Excavator do?

The mini excavator, also called the compact excavator, is a user-friendly, versatile machines are becoming an important development tool, particularly in urban areas where tighter quarters demand smaller, lighter equipment.

With many bucket sizes and multiple attachment options, the mini-excavator is an extremely versatile tool. The following are some of their functions:

Read more…

There are various brands and sizes of excavators available in the market. All of them can be divided into two types. One is the Back Hoe loader; and the other is the wheel loader. These two different types of excavators are not of varied shapes, but more importantly, of different functions and applications. In order to help readers make a wise choice of purchasing a excavator, I want to address a brief introduction of the two types.

Excavators

Backhoe Loader

Backhoe loader, also called a Loader backhoe, is a type of excavator which consists of a tractor, front shovel bucket and small backhoe in the rear.

As the name implies, it has a loader assembly on the front and a backhoe on the back. When both the loader and the backhoe are permanently attached it is almost never called a tractor, not generally used for towing and usually does not have a PTO. When the backhoe is permanently attached, the machine usually has a seat that can swivel to the rear to face the hoe controls. Removable backhoe attachments almost always have a separate seat on the attachment itself.

Due to its relatively small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are generally used in the urban areas where there is not enough space available for performing a construction. In small constructional projects such as building a small house, fixing city roads etc, backhoe loader can be used efficiently to enhance the overall conditions. Its tiny size and flexibility have made it immensely popular in the market. If it is about repairing a large construction, it is very easy and efficient to maneuver in that particular purpose.

Apart from that there are other areas where it can play an important role. Making road can be done easily if its help is taken. The transportation problem of the building equipments can be solved very easily if one uses this excavator for that purpose. Further it has an advantage of connecting various attachments for performing various operations. Whether it is the grapple, a stump grinder, auger or grapple, it can be attached with them without wasting a huge amount of time. In fact it is this versatile nature that made it nonpareil in the market.

Backhoe Loader

Wheel Loader

Wheel Loader is a front end loading machine. Wheel loaders dig and do secondary loading as well. Wheel loaders which do only secondary loading are called Pay Loaders.

The Wheel loaders are classified according to there bucket size and operating weight. The bucket size ranges from 1 cum upwards. The Wheel loaders can be tyre mounted or track mounted. The more popular version is the former, tyre mounted. .

The Wheel loaders are very versatile and can be engaged in construction works, ranging from road work, plant loading, hopper and wagon feeding, stevedoring and mineface excavation.

A Wheel loader typically has semiautomatic or automatic transmission with automatic gear sifting. The power train will include engine, transmission, related propellar shafts and powered axles at both front and rear.

A typical hydrolic curcuit for implimentation will include fixed/variable displacement pumps, controll valves, and actuators for boom, arm and bucket operation. Normally the steering curcuit is kept separate from the impliment circuit

Wheel Loader

Of course, there are many other categorizations according to different standards. But the above division is the basic one, which I sincerely hope can be of some help for you dear readers.

The Chinese cement industry is known as the number one in the world, leaving behind developed markets such as the U.S and Japan. Drawn by this tend, Chinese concrete machinery industry also ranks the top among the whole world’s. Recently, its’ 2008-2009-new market report has just been published officially. According to this report, China has established a comprehensive industrial system of this field, called the “one plant, three vehicles “,including concrete mixing plant, concrete mixer truck, concrete pump and concrete pumping vehicle.To be specific, after decades of development, concrete machinery has become a key part of engineering machinery in China, with considerable production capacity and accounting for 6% of the whole construction machinery industry.

concrete mixing plant

concrete mixer truck

concrete pump

concrete pumping vehicle

 Even faced with global economic slowdown in 2008, Chinese concrete machinery export still maintained a good growth. In 2008, 2,149 concrete pumps were exported, valuing at US$102.92 million. In quantity, the export increased 13.5%; but in capital, the export decreased 24.1%; the average export prices rose somewhat. Only 3,263 concrete mixers were exported, up 21.9% from 2007; the export valued US$ 188.42 million, 37.4% up over 2007, maintaining continuous increase.   

Currently, in Chinese concrete machinery industry, there are more than 200 enterprises, producing diversified products. China has the leading status in the production of concrete pumps. In 2007, SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd participated in the construction of Shanghai World Financial Center with 492 meters in height. At the end of Dec 2008, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. transferred super viscous C100 high-performance concrete pumps to Guangzhou International Financial Center (West Tower) with the height of 432 meters by super high-pressure concrete pump. In 2008, SANY successfully manufactured a 72-meter pump, the highest pump in the world.

Shanghai World Financial Center	Guangzhou International Financial Center

 In addition to the conventional specifications of 32m, 37m, 42m, 45m, 48m, 52m and 56m, SANY also produces the products of 38m and 40m. In January, 2007, SANY produced the super long-arm pump with 66m. However, the main specifications of SANY are 37m, 45m, 48 and 56m. The specifications of Zoomlion’s pumps ranges from 37m to 56m, but the specifications applied most widely are 37m, 44m and 47m. Putzmeister Shanghai factory produces such key models as 36m, 38m, 42m and 46m. The mainstream models of Shanghai Hold Machinery Co., Ltd. are 22m, 37m, 40m, 43m and 47m. It is worth mentioning that the short-arm pumps with the length of below 27m only include the ones of 25m produced by SANY and 22m by Shanghai Hold Machinery. The current sale of short-arm pumps account for less than 2% of that of the overall pumps, but the cost of short-arm pumps is low, which benefits the construction of buildings in dense urban areas, so the development of short-arm pumps is promising.

Concrete machinery is technology-intensive, capital-intensive and personnel-intensive, so it is difficult to enter the field. The main barriers for entering the concrete machinery industry lie in technical capabilities, qualifications, financial strength and customer service. Concrete trucks, concrete pumps and vehicle pumps are the modified automobiles, which are subject to the industrial policies of China. The manufacturers must be qualified for the production of civil converted vehicles, and they must complete test reports and apply for bulletin catalog to the government before marketing each vehicle. In general, the application period lasts long.

These days, the horrifying typhoon Morakot is sweeping through the whole Asia, from Japan to Philippines, and now it reaches China. The typhoon Morakot is extremely destroying. It has caused and will continuously cause heavy storms and mudslides and many other consequent disasters. As far as it is reported, many buildings have collapsed and many villages have been buried because of mudslide with many casualties and unaccountable ones.

Typhoon Morakot

Typhoon Morakot slams China, Taiwan

Since the typhoon is so destructive, the involved governments are all very concerned about it. They have put lots of resource and equipment to limit its damage and rescue those in danger. However, just as I have mentioned above, as some villages are totally buried with all roads outside blocked and the ground is so slippery that helicopter cannot land, many rescuers can do nothing but to wait. As a expert of construction machinery, I get an idea as soon as I read this. I think, the excavators can play a constructive role in the process of rescue.

An excavator clears the landslide area in search and rescue operation

An excavator (also called a digger) is an engineering vehicle consisting of an articulated arm (boom, stick), bucket and cab mounted on a pivot (a rotating platform, like a Lazy Susan) atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. Although it is mainly used in construction basis, building buildings or tunnels, the excavator is versatile. It can be used as many other function, which I think will make itself a powerful tool in the typhoon disaster.

Why Excavators
To begin with, excavators can help clear the way. After the typhoon went by, many roads would be blocked by rocks, trees and other substances, which makes the affected place isolated and even more dangerous, neither the insider can get out nor the outsider can get in. Though convenient, helicopters come across a problem with the rescue. It cannot land on the slippery ground left behind the heavy storm. As a result, the excavator might be a good alternative. It can not only get into the influenced places by itself, but also clear away these obstacles on roads, making further rescue effective and efficient. In addition, excavators are also an essential to search the living in the ruins and wreckages. As I have mentioned at the right beginning, many people, the living ones, have been buried in the collapsed substances. To get them out, shovels are not appropriate, for it would take more time than the trampled ones can afford. Using excavator would be more effective and efficient.

Helicopter cannot land because of the slippery ground

excavators can clear roads

As a result, I really hope the involved governments can take a serious thinking about the application of excavator for the rescue.