Excavator Classification

There are two common driving methods for excavators: internal combustion engine driven excavators and electric driven excavators. Electric excavators are mainly used in high-altitude hypoxia, underground mines, and other flammable and explosive places.
According to the different sizes, excavators can be divided into large excavators, medium excavators, and small excavators.
According to different walking modes, excavators can be divided into tracked excavators and wheeled excavators.
According to different transmission methods, excavators can be divided into hydraulic excavators and mechanical excavators. Mechanical excavators are mainly used in some large mines.
According to their uses, excavators can be divided into different categories such as general-purpose excavators, mining excavators, marine excavators, and special excavators.
According to buckets, excavators can be divided into front shovel excavators, backhoe excavators, pull shovel excavators, and grab shovel excavators. Shovel excavators are mostly used to excavate materials above the surface, while backhoe excavators are mostly used to excavate materials below the surface.
1. Backhoe excavator
The backhoe type is the most common one we have ever seen, which is backward and downward, with forced cutting of soil. It can be used for excavation below the shutdown working surface, and the basic operation methods include: trench end excavation, trench side excavation, straight excavation, curve excavation, excavation at a certain angle, ultra deep trench excavation, and trench slope excavation.
2. Front shovel excavator
The shovel action form of a front shovel excavator. Its characteristic is to move forward and force soil cutting. The front shovel has a large excavation force and can excavate soil above the machine stop surface. It is suitable for excavating dry foundation pits with a height greater than 2 meters, but uphill and downhill ramps must be set up. The excavator bucket of the front shovel is larger than that of the excavator bucket of the same equivalent backhoe. It can excavate Class I to III soil with a moisture content of no more than 27%, and cooperate with dump trucks to complete the entire excavation and transportation operation. It can also excavate large dry foundation pits and soil mounds. The excavation method of a front shovel excavator varies depending on the relative position of the excavation route and transportation vehicles. There are two ways to excavate and unload soil: forward excavation and lateral unloading; Forward excavation and reverse unloading.
3. Pulling shovel excavator
Pull shovel excavator, also known as cable shovel excavator. Its excavation characteristics are: "backward downward, cutting the soil by its own weight.". Suitable for excavation of Class I and II soil below the parking surface. When working, using inertia force to throw the bucket out, digging relatively far, with a larger excavation radius and depth, but not as flexible and accurate as a backhoe. Especially suitable for excavating large and deep foundation pits or underwater excavation.
4. Grab shovel excavator
Grab shovel excavator, also known as grab bucket excavator. Its excavation characteristics are: "straight up and straight down, cutting the soil by its own weight.". Suitable for excavation of Class I and II soil below the parking surface, commonly used in soft soil areas for excavation of foundation pits, caissons, etc. Especially suitable for excavating deep and narrow foundation pits, dredging old channels, and extracting silt from water, or for loading loose materials such as crushed stones and slag. There are two excavation methods: trench side excavation and positioning excavation. If the grab bucket is made into a grid like shape, it can also be used to load ore blocks, wood chips, wood, etc. in the timber storage yard.
The vast majority of today's excavators are fully hydraulic full rotation excavators. Hydraulic excavators are mainly composed of engines, hydraulic systems, working devices, walking devices, and electrical controls. The hydraulic system consists of a hydraulic pump, control valve, hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic motor, pipeline, oil tank, etc. The electrical control system includes monitoring panels, engine control systems, pump control systems, various sensors, solenoid valves, etc.
Hydraulic excavators generally consist of three main parts: the working device, upper body, and lower body. According to its structure and use, it can be distinguished into various types such as track type, tire type, walking type, full hydraulic, semi hydraulic, full rotary, non full rotary, universal, specialized, articulated, telescopic arm type, etc.
A working device is a device that directly completes excavation tasks. It is hinged from three parts: boom, stick, and bucket. In order to meet the needs of various construction operations, hydraulic excavators can be equipped with various working devices, such as excavation, lifting, loading, leveling, clamps, bulldozers, impact hammers, rotary drills, and other work tools.
The rotary and walking device is the body of a hydraulic excavator, and the upper part of the turntable is equipped with a power device and a transmission system. The engine is the power source of hydraulic excavators, and diesel is mostly used. In convenient locations, electric motors can also be used.
The hydraulic transmission system transmits the power of the engine to the hydraulic motor, hydraulic cylinder and other executing components through a hydraulic pump, driving the working device to move and completing various tasks.