New Mexico Excavator Parts - Excavator machines are vital for finishing jobs on budget and on time. These machines are capable of moving heavy dirt loads much faster in comparison to manual labor. This industrial equipment is used in many industries including road work, bridge building, landscaping, construction and architecture. Excavators go by many names including diggers, mechanical shovels, 360-degree excavators and tracked models are often called 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. 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 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 pumps are arranged in the excavator in a variety of formats depending on different manufacturer models.
The House and the Undercarriage
The two main aspects of the machine are made by the undercarriage and the house. The undercarriage is comprised of the tracks, track frame, the gears and the hydraulic motor that operates the blade tracks. The house features the engine, hydraulic oil tanks fuel, counterweight and the operator cab. A center pin connects the undercarriage to the house. High-pressure oils are supplied to the tracks on the hydraulic motor via a pin axis found on the hydraulic swivel. 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. The most common type of booms are the mono booms. 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. 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. 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 stick length is optional depending on if reach or breakout power is needed. 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 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 many different buckets of varying sizes for different 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 design enabled the machine to conquer more digging force and lifting capacity. As one can imagine, this became cumbersome when working within confined spaces. 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. 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. Some models come with a quick coupler feature to increase efficiency while simplifying the attachment mounting process. Excavators commonly work alongside bulldozers and loaders. 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
• Long Reach
• Backhoe
• Suction
• Steam Shovel
• Bucket Wheel
• Skid Steer
• Dragline
• Crawler
Steam Shovel
Steam shovels are one of the original types of excavators. 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. 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. 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 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 design allows attachments to reach over the cab as opposed to around it. 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
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 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. They are popular in the mining and construction industries. Crawlers are also known as compact excavators. They lift heavy debris and soil by using hydraulic power components. 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 comparison to other models but offer better stability, flexibility and balance.
Long Reach Excavators
The long reach excavator showcases lengthier boom and arm components. Long reach excavators are excellent for hard-to-reach locations. This machine offers over one hundred feet of horizontal reach. These excavators are used in demolition applications and 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 transports the material into a bin that depending on the model, could be a part of the machine or separate.