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A proper construction site is hard to imagine without an excavator, here are the top 10 must-have attachments for the next project.
Switching out attachments can quickly transform an excavator from a jackhammer to a mower and the best part is that there are options for excavators of every size. Lets take a look at the essential attachments that give excavators the versatility and flexibility theyre famous for.
Auger drills are indispensable tools for excavators, designed with a spiral mechanism that efficiently drills holes into various materials. These drills, resembling giant screws, penetrate the ground with a rotating motion and lift the excavated material, leaving a clear and precise hole behind. One of their key advantages is their versatility, allowing for use on different terrains, including earth, pavement, wood, or even ice.
What sets auger drills apart is their adaptability, available in sizes ranging from 4 inches to 4 feet, with digging depths extending up to 33 feet. This makes them ideal for a multitude of tasks, from planting trees and creating foundational pillars to constructing robust foundations. Whether your project involves drilling straight downward into different materials, auger drills stand out as versatile and reliable tools, proving invaluable in the realm of construction.
The quintessential attachment for an excavator is the bucket, crafted from robust steel and featuring teeth along its front edge for effective ground penetration. Buckets are versatile, available in various shapes and sizes, and are the expected attachment on an excavator. While their primary function is material scooping and movement, selecting the right bucket for the task enhances an excavator's efficiency.
Several popular bucket types cater to specific needs:
1. General bucket: Maximize material filling and handle light-duty grading and leveling.
2. Dirt bucket: Durable and designed for digging, moving rocks, and handling dirt.
3. Rock bucket: Ideal for stone and gravel handling, allowing soil to sift through the bottom.
4. Heavy-duty bucket: Suited for moving sturdy materials, road construction, and leveling rough terrains.
5. Light material bucket: Perfect for removing light materials like snow, offering higher capacity.
6. Low-profile bucket: Compact for tight spaces, featuring a longer lip and lower back for enhanced visibility and precision.
Choosing the right bucket is crucial, whether for rock removal or debris pickup. The proper bucket enhances operator productivity, reduces operating costs, and ensures that an excavator performs optimally for specific tasks.
For precision in digging tasks, especially when creating trenches, opting for a trencher proves to be a superior choice over a conventional bucket. Lionel Smitka, the marketing manager at Digga Australia, a leading machinery attachment manufacturer, highly recommends trenchers as a top choice for excavator attachments. According to Smitka, using a trencher on an excavator translates to significant time and cost savings.
Trenchers specialize in digging trenches exclusively, making them much faster than alternative attachments like buckets for such purposes. To illustrate, the time and fuel required for multiple excavators with buckets to dig a trench can be surpassed by a single trencher. Moreover, trenchers refine backfilling, ensuring a smoother return to the trench without sinkage.
An often overlooked advantage is the trencher's ability to operate in close proximity to buildings and other structures, making them ideal for challenging trenching jobs. Their versatility extends to handling rockier soil types, allowing their use in utility installations, footings, and irrigation systems.
Despite their reliability and efficiency, Smitka notes that trenchers are often underrated among excavator attachments, with some contractors still relying on buckets for trenching. To gain a competitive edge, Smitka suggests embracing trenchers more frequently for construction projects.
When the task at hand involves compacting the ground, the go-to tool is a compactor. However, the key to selecting the right compactor lies in understanding and identifying the soil type. Granular soil, comprising particles like sand and gravel, tends to crumble easily. When subjected to vibration energy during compaction, there's reduced friction, and the particles settle in a way that restricts movement. In such cases, a plate compactor proves to be the more suitable choice.
A typical plate compactor features a flat plate that swiftly moves on the ground. The rapid impacts, coupled with the weight of the plate, effectively compress the ground beneath. The ability to rotate up to 360 degrees makes plate compactors ideal for working in narrow trenches or reaching areas inaccessible to rollers.
On the flip side, cohesive soil, which contains more clay, demands a different approach. This type of soil requires more impact force to knead out air and excess water for effective compression. For this purpose, a wheel compactor with roller bearings becomes the preferred tool. While some contractors may opt for manual soil compression, using a compactor proves to be a more time-saving, cost-effective, and efficient approach.
Efficiency at a construction site hinges on having the right tools, and a coupler stands out as a game-changer. Offering swift attachment changes, couplers allow you to seamlessly switch from a bucket to a compactor, saving valuable time. Notably, a glass recycler in South Carolina utilizing hydraulic couplers for their heavy equipment has reported saving up to half an hour during attachment changes.
This time-saving aspect is particularly crucial in construction projects where frequent changes are the norm. Hydraulic couplers, also known as quick couplers, not only streamline the process but also enable operators to work without leaving the cab, enhancing convenience. On the other hand, some contractors may find mechanical couplers more cost-effective if they don't frequently change attachments. However, it's essential to note that with mechanical couplers, operators need to leave the cab for each attachment change, requiring two employees and potentially introducing some inconvenience.
Despite this, continuous development in coupler technology aims at improving performance and safety. When deciding between hydraulic and mechanical couplers, the choice ultimately boils down to what makes the most sense for the company and the specific requirements of a project.
Grapples, although more commonly associated with forestry tasks, have found their utility on construction sites as well. Characterized by two sizable claw-like clamps operated hydraulically, these attachments can rotate and move at various angles, enabling the lifting and transportation of heavy materials regardless of size or shape.
The hydraulic excavator has been a real game-changer for the construction, earthmoving, mining and quarrying industries since its introduction in the s, not least due to its ability to tackle a wide variety of tasks with a simple change of attachment.
This ability is not always exploited, as many people still think of an excavator simply as a machine with a bucket used to dig and move earth. So we asked a few industry stalwarts Queensland Rock Breakers (QRB) general manager, Fred Carlsson; Digga Australia marketing manager, Lionel Smitka; and Deleccas sales manager, Jason Delecca to name their top recommended excavator attachments.
RELATED READ: 5 main types of earthmoving equipment and when to use them
Well crown the digging bucket as champion because its both ubiquitous and indispensable. Then all three of our experts had rock breakers and hydraulic grabs on their lists, with vibrating compaction plates, flail mowers and sieve buckets appearing on two lists.
As you get into the specialist fields, the must-have attachments depend on your application, Carlsson pointed out.
There are a number of attachments such as pile drivers and rock saws that probably don't make the list because of their limited overall applications but, as you can see, there is no shortage of attachments, which is one reason why excavators account for roughly half the machinery market in Australia.
We take a look at each experts must-have list, then examine eight attachments in more detail:
Frederik Carlsson Queensland Rock Breakers (QRB)
Lionel Smitka Digga Australia
Jason Delecca Deleccas
A Bobcat flail mower in action
Perhaps a flail mower isnt the first thing that comes to mind when talking about excavator attachments, but Deleccas sales manager, Jason Delecca, places it at number one on his list.
The flail mower is generally forgotten about, but its amazing what it is capable of doing, Delecca said.
We sell these to suit 1.5-tonne to 8-tonne excavators. It means that people can start clearing scrubs on sides of roads and also for small land-clearing jobs.
We have had contractors go from clearing large highway roadsides to farm clearing and then into creaks and channels. It works the hydraulics but the rest of the machine generally works very easy when operating.
Delecca said his Bendigo (VIC) business has used a few brands previously, but these days they recommend the Bobcat unit.
It has a feature that shuts down the flails quicker and also side chains not rubber to stop debris going into unwanted directions, he said. Also, the body is strong and will withstand damage.
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An excavators hydraulic pressure makes it perfect for mounting auger drives with post hole borers to prepare the ground for fence posts, plants or signposts.
Youve just got to look around, said Digga Australia marketing manager, Lionel Smitka.
We drill holes for everything from planting trees and erecting playground equipment, to building foundations and fencing.
From domestic to commercial projects, there wouldnt be many projects which wouldnt require holes to be drilled, he said.
Weve been selling hundreds of auger drives every month for over 30 years. The demand for holes is endless.
According to Smitka, buying an auger drive is simple, but buying the correct one is not so straightforward.
Its almost a science where one must consider the size and depth of the hole to be drilled, ground conditions and host machines hydraulic system, he said.
Use a reputable company with a wide range of drives to ensure you are fitted into a drive which will give you the ideal drilling speed and torque for the expected ground conditions. Too fast in hard ground and the auger will skate over the ground without biting in. Too slow in good conditions and youre wasting time and money.
Talk to someone who knows what they are talking about, Smitka emphasised. If your machines hydraulic flow is the only question youre asked, move on. Auger size, ground conditions and RPM are equally as important.
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Since the first rock breaker, or hydraulic hammer, was invented by Atlas Copco forebear Krupp (or possibly by Montalbert, depending on who you ask) in the late s, this excavator attachment has gone on to transform the construction, mining and quarrying industries.
QRB general manager, Fred Carlsson, put the rock breaker at number one on his list as it is the highest value attachment required for most excavators in order to be able to compete on most jobs.
As it is a big investment for most owners, the key factors to consider are that it is a well-known brand supported by an established business that carries all parts to keep you going, he said.
Ensure you are getting value for money by comparing the energy impact, flow rates, etc, as some suppliers will sell a breaker that is too small for the application in order to bring down their price, which means you won't be getting the most out of your machine and attachment investment.
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Adding a hydraulic grab or grapple to an excavator turns it into a versatile machine capable of handling rocks, logs, scrap materials and more if you can grab it, you can move it.
The attachments versatility is proven by the number of names given to it theyre also known as rock grabs, log grabs, static grabs, demolition grabs, stiff arm grabs and box tyne grapples.
A hydraulic grab fits perfectly with a flair mower, Jason Delecca said.
It allows you to clear anything around you. We generally fit a lot of these to our regional contractors excavators, and they are always very surprised at how much they use them once they are on the machine.
Carlsson said you should pick your tool for your application, but make sure you buy the right one!
Log grabs, finger grabs, orange peel grabs for scrap, magnetic grabs, or rotating grabs all have specific designs for defined picking purposes, he said.
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You may be somewhat surprised that I placed trenchers as my number two, Diggas Lionel Smitka said. After all, excavators are sold with a bucket which is used for digging trenches so why would anyone spend $ on a dedicated trencher?
Well, a trencher will cut a trench faster than a bucket furthermore the spoil extracted from the trench is finer and able to be returned to the trench with little sinkage.
For any operator trenching serious meters, a dedicated trencher attachment will be more efficient, saving time and money, Smitka said. It is the most underrated excavator attachment on the market.
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Also known as twin-header rock grinders, rotary cutters, hydraulic cutters or simply as twin-headers, this attachment is designed for a variety of applications. This includes trench work in hard and compacted ground, concrete and rock wall profiling, dredging, demolition and quarry work really in circumstances where conventional digging systems and percussion tools have little effect.
Whether cutting out basements for high rise developments, or being a cost effective extraction tool for mining/quarry applications, twin head cutters chip in handy profits in cost-effectively extracting materials in hard-to-get-at-locations, Fred Carlsson said.
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Also known as hydraulic compactors or compactor plates, vibrating compaction plates are designed for compacting soil, trenches and embankments as well as driving in and pulling out piles, posts and formwork.
The vibration forces of the plates drive soil particles close together for solid, stable compaction in applications from narrow trenches to large backfill operations.
Its generally simple to connect a compactor plate to your machine's existing hydraulics, and is even easier if you have existing hydraulic hammer piping.
Excavator-mounted vibrating plates have a number of benefits over manually operated compactors: theyre safer as no one needs to actually stand in the workspace; they generally create less noise; they can be used anywhere the boom can place them; and much of the excavator load is partially transferred to the plate, thus accelerating the compaction process.
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These buckets are used to sort a wide variety of materials from rock, gravel, soil, bricks and rubble to hot materials such as steel slag. Their applications are equally diverse, from recycling and demolition to feeding crusher units and the remediation of contaminated soil.
Also known as riddle buckets, sorting buckets, shaker buckets or skeleton buckets, they are filled with material and then shaken to allow finer pieces to fall through the grill while retaining larger objects, such as bricks and rubble. It goes without saying that you need to choose an aperture that suits the materials being sorted.
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