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Excavator Parts Olympia - Excavators are important machines that are used in a variety of industries. They are far more efficient compared to manual labor and can move heavy loads of dirt in mere 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. There are many ways to utilize excavators and their associated attachments including: • Material handling • Construction • Forestry • Digging foundations, holes and trenches • River dredging • Mulching for forestry • Brush cutting with a mower and hydraulic saw attachments • Open pit and regular mining • Snow removal with a snow blower and snowplow attachments • Working with a pile driver for driving piles • Landscaping and grading • Drilling for rock blasting and footings with hydraulic drill or auger attachment • Demolition with breaker, cutter and hydraulic claw attachments An excavator is a type of heavy construction equipment that is comprised of specific parts. The stick or the dipper, cab, boom and bucket are located on top of the house which is a rotating platform. 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 hydraulic cylinders feature linear actuation making them different from excavators that are cable-operated, relying on steel ropes and winches instead. 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. Modern hydraulic excavators rely on engine power to operate three hydraulic pumps as opposed to mechanical drivetrain operations. 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 design offers less required physical effort for operating the controls. The three excavator pumps typically consist of a gear pump and two variable displacement piston pumps. 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. 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 design allows the excavator to move freely in 360 degrees. The house is available in a variety of configurations and is attached to the main boom. Mono booms are among the most common. This type features zero movement besides straight up and down. The knuckle boom enables the machine to move right and left in line. There is a hinge option located at the booms’ base to let it pivot up to 180 degrees independently to the house, usually on available on compact excavators. There are triple articulated booms available on specific machines. 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. At the end of the stick, the bucket is attached. 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 many different buckets of varying sizes for different applications. Numerous attachments can be used for ripping, lifting, cutting, boring, crushing, 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. 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. Certain excavators have switches to allow the operator to decide on which configuration they want to use during operation. Hydraulic excavator jobs have surpassed bucket and excavation tasks. There are many hydraulic-powered excavator attachments including a breaker, a grapple and an auger. There are models that offer a quick coupler feature to simplify attachment mounting and increase efficiency. Excavators commonly work alongside bulldozers and loaders. The majority of medium and compact sized wheeled models have a dozer blade or a backfill blade. This horizontal blade attaches to the undercarriage. It is used for pushing and leveling material back 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 One of the first kinds of excavators were steam shovels. They relied on steam energy while today’s models use electric or diesel motors. Steam shovels are similar to backhoes with the bucket or shovel facing away from the machine instead of facing it. 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. This equipment consists of a wheeled track base and large bucket that extends from an arm or boom above the ground. 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 design enables operators to obtain a longer reach while digging deeper compared to a traditional backhoe. The boom and cables allow users to work over unstable or wet ground and where a traditional backhoe would not work. Skid Steer Excavators Skid steers have buckets and booms that face away from the operator. This engineering enables attachments to reach over the cab instead of around the cab. Skid steers are excellent in narrow areas and can easily negotiate tight turns thanks to this specific design. They are commonly employed for residential projects like site cleaning, digging pools and removing debris within limited space. 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. 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. They are popular in the mining and construction industries. 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 Bucket-wheel excavators have a sizeable front wheel that has built-in shovels and buckets. Dirt and rocks are scooped up within the buckets as the wheel rotates. 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.