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Excavator Parts in Montana - Excavators are important machines that are used in a variety of industries. They are extremely efficient in moving and transporting heavy loads within minutes. Besides being utilized in construction, this equipment is popular in a variety of industries including bridge and road work, agriculture and landscaping. Also called diggers, 360-degree excavators and mechanical shovels, tracked models are sometimes referred to as trackhoes. 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. Excavators have evolved from steam shovels of yesteryear. 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. Tiny and compact models weigh approximately 2k lbs. while the largest models weigh in around 2m lbs. Three hydraulic pumps are utilized by modern hydraulic models instead of relying on mechanical drivetrain configurations. Two of the pumps supply high-pressure oil for the track motors, swing motor, arms and accessories. 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 undercarriage is comprised of the tracks, track frame, the gears and the hydraulic motor that operates the blade tracks. The house consists of the operator cab, the counterweight, hydraulic oil tanks, fuel and the engine. The house and the undercarriage are connected via a pin. 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 attached to the main boom and various configurations are available. The most common type of booms are the mono booms. This type features zero movement besides straight up and down. A knuckle boom is another option which allows it to move right and left in line with the machine. 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. Triple articulated booms are also on the market. At the end of the boom, the stick or dipper arm is located. This apparatus provides the required 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. Shorter stick models are often utilized for breakout power jobs while longer stick models are used to complete extensive reach situations. A bucket is typically attached to the end of the stick. A mud bucket refers to a wide bucket that has a straight cutting edge for cleanup applications and leveling and where teeth are not required. 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. Numerous attachments can be used for ripping, lifting, cutting, boring, crushing, and more. Prior to the ‘90s, all excavating equipment came with a conventional counterweight that was suspended off of the back of the machine. This was in place to add more lifting capacity and digging force. This design was not ideal for working in confined locations. The counterweight of modern machines today is designed to stay in the width of the tracks making it much safer and more user-friendly within confined spaces. In excavators, there are two main kinds of control configuration to operate the bucket and the boom called the ISO and the SAE. This configuration disperses the top four digging controls between two separate y-x joysticks, providing the operator with simultaneous control over all four movements. Some models have switches that enable the operator to choose which configuration they prefer. Hydraulic excavator jobs have surpassed bucket and excavation tasks. There are many hydraulic-powered excavator attachments including a breaker, a grapple and an auger. Some models come with a quick coupler feature to increase efficiency while simplifying the attachment mounting process. Excavators often work beside loaders and bulldozers. The majority of medium and compact sized wheeled models have a dozer blade or a backfill 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 There are eight main kinds of excavators including the dragline, long reach, crawler, bucket wheel, backhoe, steam shovel, skid steer and suction. Steam Shovel Steam shovels are one of the original types of excavators. They relied on steam energy while today’s models use electric or diesel 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 Backhoes are one of the most popular kinds of excavators. Backhoes contain a large bucket that extends from a boom or an arm and a wheeled track base. The operator can scoop earth toward the machine as the design has the bucket facing the operator’s cab. There are many kinds of excavators and sizes including heavy-duty applications such as dredging water and bridge construction to compact residential models ideal for backyard landscaping. The more compact units are ideal for accessing smaller spaces and this offers a 200-degree swiveling range for digging close to the machine. Dragline Excavator Dragline excavators are designed similarly to a backhoe and include numerous lines and cables to support 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 Resembling a modern dump truck, these special excavators enable operators to use a large hose and vacuum technology to suck rocks and earth out of the ground. The material is moved back to the truck. This machine makes it safer to dig around underground pipes and equipment compared to regular backhoes. Crawler Excavators Crawlers run on two tracks and not wheels. These machines are used in construction and mining operations. Crawlers are also known as compact excavators. They lift heavy debris and soil by using hydraulic power components. The machine can travel down hills thanks to the chain wheel configuration that makes these machines excellent for difficult and hilly 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. This machine offers over one hundred feet of horizontal reach. These excavators are used in demolition applications and working over a body of water. Various attachments can be fixed to the arm to complete jobs such as cutting, crushing and shearing. Bucket Wheel Excavator These machines consist of a large front wheel that has built-in buckets and shovels. As the wheel rotates, rocks and dirt are scooped up in the buckets. Materials are transferred onto a conveyor belt that makes up a portion of the machine. The belt transfers the material into a bin that may be separate from the model or a part of the machine.