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Excavator Parts Spokane - 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. These machines are used in landscaping, agricultural applications, road work and bridge work along with the construction industry. 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 type of heavy construction equipment that is comprised of specific 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. The hydraulic excavating models rely on hydraulic fluid to finish all movement and functions. The linear actuation on the hydraulic cylinders makes them differ from cable-operated excavators that rely on winches or steel ropes. Excavator Models Hydraulic excavators come in a variety of different models and sizes. Compact and tiny models weigh in around two thousand pounds. The largest models conversely fall into the two million pound category. 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 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 features the engine, hydraulic oil tanks fuel, counterweight and the operator cab. The house and the undercarriage are connected via a pin. 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. 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 arm creates the necessary 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 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 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. As one can imagine, this became cumbersome when working within confined spaces. Today’s machines have been designed with the counterweight to stay in the width of the tracks for a much more user-friendly design. 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. Regular excavation and bucket jobs have been surpassed by hydraulic excavators. 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. 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 utilized steam energy back in the day, while current models rely on diesel or electric 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 popular for digging around objects that might interfere with a regular 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 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. 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. Also called compact excavators, these machines rely on hydraulic power components to lift heavy soil and debris. 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 comparison to other models but offer better stability, flexibility and balance. 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. 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. 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.