Excavators A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating

machine designed for lifting and moving material such as

Crawler Excavators rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power
Crawler excavator runs on two endless tracks (chain shovel or excavator. The shovels systematically
wheel system). These types of excavators are used in removed hillsides. As a result, steam shovels were used
hilly areas where risks of sliding of machinery are on the around the world from Australia to Russia to coal mines
verge. Crawler type excavator has low ground pressure in China. Shovels were also used for construction, road
because of spreading of load on large area. Therefore, it and quarry work.
is also used where soil support is weak. Suction Excavator
Wheel Excavator A suction excavator or vacuum excavator is
Wheel excavator runs on wheels and are used for a construction vehicle that removes materials from a
excavation and loading of dump trucks and most of the hole on land, or removes heavy debris on land. A suction
time it is only used for plain ground operations. Because excavator produces powerful suction through a wide pipe
of wheel, it is not suitable for hilly areas due to low grip which is up to 30 centimetres (1 ft) or so in diameter. The
value to the ground. suction inlet air speed may be up to 100 metres per
second (220 mph). Its construction is somewhat like
Compact Excavator a vacuum truck (gully emptier) but with a wider suction
hose and a more powerful suction.
Mini excavators, also called compact excavators, have
been gaining popularity because of their ability to work Walking Excavator
and maneuver in tight spaces that larger excavators
cant reach. In terms of size, mini excavators are A Walking Excavator or popularly Spider Excavator is a
classified as having an operating weight of 9,999 pounds special type of all-terrain excavator.
(4,535 kg) and under. Walking excavators - also known as spider excavators
With its versatility and ease to operate and transport, the are extremely specialised construction machines that
mini excavator is used by contractors from all different move forwards on four wheels, which are connected to
backgrounds and is capable of performing a wide range the undercarriage by legs. These legs can also be used
of tasks that include utility trenching, concrete removal, to adjust the track width and the height of the vehicle
tree harvesting, repair digs, small over a wide range of dimensions, ensuring that the
scale excavation operations, tree transport and planting, machines remain highly flexible and can be adapted to
grave digging, light demolition, home repair, renovation, the surrounding conditions, both in drive mode and work
and roadside applications. mode, when the stabilisers on the legs are extended.
This means that they are ideally suited to working in
Dragline Excavators locations such as very steep slopes or in streams.
Bucket-wheel Excavator
A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used
in civil engineering and surface mining.
Bucket-wheel excavators (BWEs) are heavy
equipment used in surface mining.
Draglines used in civil engineering are almost always of
this smaller, crane type. These are used for road, port
construction, pond and canal dredging, and The primary function of BWEs is to act as a continuous
as pile driving rigs. The much larger type which is built digging machine in large-scale open-pit
on site is commonly used in strip-mining operations to mining operations. What sets BWEs apart from other
remove overburden above coal and more recently for oil large-scale mining equipment, such as bucket chain
sands mining. A typical bucket has a volume ranging excavators, is their use of a large wheel consisting of a
from 40 to 80 cubic yards (30 to 60 cubic metres), continuous pattern of buckets used to scoop material as
though extremely large buckets have ranged up to 168 the wheel turns. 100 m3/h of earth. Their larger models
cubic metres (5,900 cu ft). reach boom lengths of 80m, weigh 13,000 tons, and
Long reach Excavator move 12,500 m3/h
Long reach machines excel at dredging operations
where large quantities of material needs to be removed
from underwater while the physical plant stays above
Graders
water.
A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader or
Amphibious Excavator
a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long
An amphibious excavator is a type of excavator that can blade used to create a flat surface during
perform dredging while afloat in shallow water. the grading process. Capacities range from a blade
An amphibious excavator is better adapted for removing width of 2.50 to 7.30 m and engines from 93
silty clay, clearing silted trenches, swampland operation, 373 kW (125500 hp). Graders are commonly used in
and shallow water operation than traditional barge- the construction and maintenance of dirt
mounted dredgers. roads and gravel roads. In the construction of paved
roads they are used to prepare the base course to create
Power Shovel a wide flat surface upon which to place the asphalt.
Graders are also used to set native soilfoundation pads
A power shovel (also stripping shovel or front to finish grade prior to the construction of large buildings.
shovel or electric mining shovel) is a bucket-equipped Graders can produce inclined surfaces, to
machine, usually electrically powered, used for digging give cant (camber) to roads. In some countries they are
and loading earth or fragmented rock and for mineral used to produce drainage ditches with shallow V-shaped
extraction. cross-sections on either side of highways.
Steam Shovel Skid Steer Loader
A skid loader, skid-steer loader, or skidsteer, is a small, magnets, forks, and buckets. Smaller swingloaders
rigid-frame, engine-powered machine with lift arms used are used in farming applications for loading out. A
to attach a wide variety of labor-saving tools or swinging boom is advantageous where space is
attachments. A skid-steer loader can sometimes be used limited. The loader is able to lift on all sides and dump
in place of a large excavator by digging a hole from the off on all sides.
inside. The skid loader first digs a ramp leading to the
edge of the desired excavation. It then uses the ramp to Bulldozers
carry material out of the hole. The skid loader reshapes
the ramp making it steeper and longer as the excavation A bulldozer is a crawler (continuous tracked tractor)
deepens. This method is particularly useful for digging equipped with a substantial metal plate (known as a
under a structure where overhead clearance does not blade) used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble,
allow for the boom of a large excavator, such as digging or other such material during construction or conversion
a basement under an existing house. Several companies work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like
make backhoe attachments for skid-steers. These are device (known as a ripper) to loosen densely compacted
more effective for digging in a small area than the materials.
method above and can work in the same environments. Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites, mines
Other applications may consist of transporting raw and quarries, military bases, heavy industry factories,
material around a job site, or assisting in the rough engineering projects and farms.
grading process.
Wheel Trencher
Tracked Loader
A wheel trencher or rockwheel is composed of a toothed
A tracked loader is an engineering vehicle consisting of a metal wheel. It is cheaper to operate and maintain than
tracked chassis with a loader for digging and loading chain-type trenchers. It can work in hard or soft soils,
material. either homogeneous (compact rocks, silts, sands) or
Backhoe Loader heterogeneous (split or broken rock, alluvia, moraines).
This is particularly true because a cutting wheel works by
A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, digger clearing the soil as a bucket-wheel does, rather than like
in layman's terms, or colloquially shortened to backhoe a rasp (chain trencher). Consequently, it will be less
within the industry, is a heavy equipment vehicle that sensitive to the presence of blocks in the soil. They are
consists of a tractor like unit fitted with a loader-style also used to cut pavement for road maintenance and to
shovel/bucket on the front and a backhoe on the back. gain access to utilities under roads.
Backhoe loaders are very common and can be used for
a wide variety of tasks: construction, small demolitions, Chain Trencher
light transportation of building materials, powering A chain trencher cuts with a digging chain or belt that is
building equipment, digging holes/excavation, driven around a rounded metal frame, or boom. It
landscaping, breaking asphalt, and paving roads. resembles a giant chainsaw. This type of trencher can
Wheel Loaders cut ground that is too hard to cut with a bucket-type
excavator, and can also cut narrow and deep trenches.
Wheel loaders are versatile mobile shovels that transfer The angle of the boom can be adjusted to control the
material from stockpiles to trucks, or transport material depth of the cut. To cut a trench, the boom is held at a
around job sites. Bucket sizes range from perhaps 1 fixed angle while the machine creeps slowly.
cubic yard for small utility machines, to 20 cubic yards or
more for large models in mining applications. Small and The chain trencher is used for digging wider trenches
mid-sized wheel loaders frequently have an attachment (telecommunication, electricity, drainage, water, gas,
coupler that allows them to use work tools such as forks, sanitation, etc.) especially in rural areas. The excavated
brooms, and lifting jibs. materials can be removed by conveyor belt reversible
either on the right or on the left side.
Tractor Front Loaders
Micro Trencher
These loaders are a popular addition to tractors from 50
to 200 hp. Its current 'drive-in' form was originally A micro trencher is a "small rockwheel" specially
designed and developed in 1958 by a Swedish company designed for work in urban area. It is fitted with a cutting
named l when they launched their Quicke loader.[3] wheel that cuts a microtrench with smaller dimensions
Tractor loaders were developed to perform a multitude of than can be achieved with conventional trench digging
farming tasks, and are popular due to their relatively low equipment. Microtrench widths range from about 30 to
cost (compared to Telehandler) and high versatility. 130 mm (1.2 to 5.1 in) with a depth of 500 mm (20 in) or
Tractor loaders can be fitted with many attachments less. These machines are sometimes radio-controlled.
such as hydraulic grabs and spikes to assist with bale Portable Trencher
and silage handling, forks for pallet work, and buckets for
more general farm activities. Landscapers and lawn care specialist may use a
portable trencher to install landscape edging and
Compact Front End Loaders irrigation lines. These machines are lightweight (around
Compact utility tractors, also called CUTs, are small 200 pounds) and are easily maneuverable compared to
tractors, typically with 18 to 50 horsepower (37 kW) and other types of trenchers. The cutting implement may be
used primarily for grounds maintenance and landscape a chain or a blade similar to a rotary lawn mower blade
chores. oriented so that it rotates in a vertical plane.

Swing Loaders Tractor Mount Trencher

A swing loader is a rigid frame loader with a swinging A tractor mount trencher is a trenching device which
boom. The boom can swing 180 degrees or more. needs a creeping gear tractor to operate. This type of
trenchers is another type of chain trencher. The tractor
Swingloaders are primarily used by the railroad
should be able to go as slowly as the trencher's
industry to lay rail. Like other loaders many
trenching speed.
attachments can be attached to the boom such as
Construction Vehicles A crane mounted on a truck carrier provides the mobility
for this type of crane. these cranes are able to travel on
Tippers highways, eliminating the need for special equipment to
A truck or lorry the rear platform of which can be raised transport the crane unless weight or other size
at the front end to allow the load to be discharged by constrictions are in place such as local laws. If this is the
gravity also called tip truck. Tippers are suited for the case, most larger cranes are equipped with either
rough and tumble of mining & quarrying operations, as special trailers to help spread the load over more axles
well as for carrying bulk loads in construction and or are able to disassemble to meet requirements. Truck
infrastructure industries. Complete maneuverability, high cranes range in lifting capacity from about 14.5 short
performance and long-term endurance are common to tons (12.9 long tons; 13.2 t) to about 1,300 short tons
all trucks, resulting in lower operational costs. (1,161 long tons; 1,179 t). Although most only rotate
about 180 degrees, the more expensive truck mounted
Dumpers cranes can turn a full 360 degrees.

A dump truck is a vehicle designed to transport bulk Side Lifter Crane

material, often in construction. It has a open jump ahead
with the driver seat , and consist of a large boxlike body A sidelifter crane is a road-going truck or semi-trailer,
to contain materials. A dumper usually has 4 Wheels, able to hoist and transport ISO standard containers.
where the entire load and the movement depends on. Container lift is done with parallel crane-like hoists,
The jump can tipped to be the load dump; This is where which can lift a container from the ground or from a
the name dumper comes. They are usually diesel railway vehicle.
engine. A towing eye is equipped for use as a tractor Rough terrain crane
secondary site. Modern dumpers have payloads up to 10
tons and usually articulate perform in the middle of the A crane mounted on an undercarriage with four rubber
housing. There are various sizes of dumpers in the tires that is designed for pick-and-carry operations and
present construction industry. Apart from using them for for off-road and "rough terrain" applications. Outriggers
construction, they are also been used in Large mining are used to level and stabilize the crane for hoisting.
tunnels and gem excavations to remove soil and other
substances. These telescopic cranes are single-engine machines,
with the same engine powering the undercarriage and
Articulated Hauler the crane, similar to a crawler crane. In a rough terrain
crane, the engine is usually mounted in the
An articulated hauler, articulated dump truck (ADT), or undercarriage rather than in the upper, as with crawler
sometimes a Dump Hauler, is a very large heavy duty crane. Most have 4 wheel drive and 4 wheel steering
type of dump truck used to transport loads over rough which allows them to traverse tighter and slicker terrain
terrain. than a standard truck crane with less site prep. In
Trailers addition, there are rough terrain cranes with the
operating cab mounted on the lower as opposed to the
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle towed by a P&H in the above image.
powered vehicle. It is commonly used for the transport of
goods and materials. Pick and carry crane

Sometimes recreational vehicles, travel trailers, or A Pick and Carry Crane is similar to a mobile crane in
mobile homes with limited living facilities, where people that is designed to travel on public roads, however Pick
can camp or stay have been referred to as trailers. In and Carry cranes have no stabiliser legs or outriggers
earlier days, many such vehicles were towable trailers. and are designed to lift the load and carry it to its
destination, within a small radius, then be able to drive to
Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used the next job. The capacity range is usually ten to twenty
for transport of goods and materials in construction or tonnes maximum lift, although this is much less at the tip
other related field. of the boom. Pick and Carry cranes have displaced the
work usually completed by smaller truck cranes as the
Material Handling Equipment set up time is much quicker. Many steel fabrication yards
also use pick and carry cranes as they can "walk" with
Overhead Crane
fabricated steel sections and place these where required
An overhead crane, commonly called a bridge crane, is a with relative ease.
type of crane found in industrial environments. An
Carry deck crane
overhead crane consists of parallel runways with a
traveling bridge spanning the gap. A hoist, the lifting A carry deck crane is a small 4 wheel crane with a 360
component of a crane, travels along the bridge. If the degree rotating boom placed right in the centre and an
bridge is rigidly supported on two or more legs running operators cab located at one end under this boom. The
on a fixed rail at ground level, the crane is called a rear section houses the engine and the area above the
gantry crane (USA, ASME B30 series) or a goliath crane wheels is a flat deck. Very much an American invention
(UK, BS 466). Overhead cranes are commonly used in the Carry deck can hoist a load in a confined space and
the refinement of steel and other metals such as copper then load it on the deck space around the cab or engine
and aluminium. and subsequently move to another site. The Carry Deck
principle is the American version of the pick and carry
Rotary Overhead Crane
crane and both allow the load to be moved by the crane
This type of overhead crane has one end of the bridge over short distances.
mounted on a fixed pivot and the other end carried on an
Crawler crane
annular track; the bridge traverses the circular area
beneath. This offers improvement over a jib crane by A crawler is a crane mounted on an undercarriage with a
making possible a longer reach and eliminating lateral set of tracks (also called crawlers) that provide stability
strains on the building walls. and mobility. Crawler cranes range in lifting capacity
from about 40 to 3,500 short tons (35.7 to 3,125.0 long
Truck Mounted Crane
tons; 36.3 to 3,175.1 t).
Crawler cranes have both advantages and as lifting device. The load connected to the lifting means
disadvantages depending on their use. Their main of a lifting hook. Also known as a man-lift, Buck-hoist,
advantage is that they can move around on site and temporal lift, builder forklifts, lift or elevator, is this kind of
perform each lift with little set-up, since the crane is lift is often in large construction projects large as tall
stable on its tracks with no outriggers. Caterpillar tracks buildings or large hospitals. There are many other uses
are also far better at traversing soft ground without for the elevator. other industries use the buck hoist for
sinking in, as they spread the weight out over a great full-time operations. The purpose is to transfer its
area. Thus a crawler crane can move about an personnel, material and equipment between the ground
unprepared job site with less risk of getting stuck in soft and the upper floors, or between plants in the middle of a
ground. In addition, a crawler crane is capable of structure.
traveling with a load. The main disadvantage is that they
are very heavy, and cannot easily be moved from one Fork Lifts
job site to another without significant expense. Typically A forklift truck (lift truck, fork truck, forklift,tow-motor) is a
a large crawler must be disassembled and moved by powered industrial truck used to lift and transport
trucks, rail cars or ships to its next location. materials. Forklift trucks are available in many variations
Floating crane and load capacities. In a typical warehouse setting most
forklifts used have load capacities between one to five
Floating cranes are used mainly in bridge building and tons. Larger machines, up to 50 tons lift capacity are
port construction, but they are also used for occasional used for lifting heavier loads.
loading and unloading of especially heavy or awkward
loads on and off ships. Some floating cranes are Construction Equipment
mounted on pontoons, others are specialized crane Concrete Mixer
barges with a lifting capacity exceeding 10,000 short
tons (8,929 long tons; 9,072 t) and have been used to A concrete mixer (often mistakenly called a cement
transport entire bridge sections. Floating cranes have mixer) is a device that homogeneously combines
also been used to salvage sunken ships. Crane vessels cement, aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to
are often used in offshore construction. form concrete. A typical concrete mixer uses a revolving
drum to mix the components. For smaller volume works
Aerial crane portable concrete mixers are often used so that the
Aerial crane or 'Sky cranes' usually are helicopters concrete can be made at the construction site, giving the
designed to lift large loads. Helicopters are able to travel workers ample time to use the concrete before it
to and lift in areas that are difficult to reach by hardens. An alternative to a machine is mixing concrete
conventional cranes. Helicopter cranes are most by hand. This is usually done in a wheelbarrow;
commonly used to lift units/loads onto shopping centers however, several companies have recently begun to sell
and highrises. They can lift anything within their lifting modified tarps for this purpose.
capacity, (cars, boats, swimming pools, etc.). They also Compactors
perform disaster relief after natural disasters for clean-
up, and during wild-fires they are able to carry huge Rammers
buckets of water to extinguish fires. Some aerial cranes,
mostly concepts, have also used lighter-than air aircraft, Rammers are used for compacting small areas by
such as airships. providing impact load to the soil. This equipment is light
and can be hand or machine operated. The base size of
Tower crane rammers can be 15cm x 15cm or 20cm x 20cm or more.
Tower crane atop Mont Blanc
Tower cranes are a modern form of balance crane that Rammers for soil compaction. For machine operated
consist of the same basic parts. Fixed to the ground on a rammers, the usual weight varies from 30kg to 10 tonnes
concrete slab (and sometimes attached to the sides of (6 lbs to 22000 lbs). These hammers with 2- 3 tonnes
structures), tower cranes often give the best combination (4400 to 6600 lbs)weights are allowed to free fall from a
of height and lifting capacity and are used in the height of 1m to 2m (3ft to 7ft) on the soil for the
construction of tall buildings. The base is then attached compaction of rock fragments.Rammers are suitable for
to the mast which gives the crane its height. Further the compacting cohesive soils as well as other soils. This
mast is attached to the slewing unit (gear and motor) that machine in areas with difficulty in access.
allows the crane to rotate. On top of the slewing unit
there are three main parts which are: the long horizontal Vibrating Plate Compactor
jib (working arm), shorter counter-jib, and the operator's
Vibrating plate compactors are used for compaction of
cab.
coarse soils with 4 to 8% fines. These equipments are
Conveyors used for small areas. The usual weights of these
machines vary from 100 kg to 2 tonne with plate areas
A conveyor structure is a common piece of mechanical between 0.16 m2 and 1.6 m2.
handling equipment that moves materials from one
location to another location. Conveyors are mainly useful Vibro Tampers
in applications involving the transportation of heavy or
Vibro tampers is used for compaction of small areas in
bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow quick and
confined space. This machine is suitable for compaction
efficient transportation for a wide variety of materials,
of all types of soil by vibrations set up in a base plate
which make them very popular in the material handling
through a spring activated by an engine driven
and packaging industries
reciprocating mechanism. They are usually manually
Hoists guided and weigh between 50 and 100 kg (100 to 220
lbs).
Hoist is a device for raising or lowering a load by means
of a drum or wheel lift to which wraps the rope or chain. Smooth Wheeled Rollers
It can be operated by hand, is driven electrically or
The most suitable soils for these roller type are well
pneumatically, and the chain or wire rope fibers are used
graded sand, gravel, crushed rock, asphalt etc. where
crushing is required. These are used on soils which does forming a grid with squire holes. The weight of this roller
not require great pressure for compaction. These rollers can be increased by ballasting with concrete blocks.
are generally used for finishing the upper surface of the
soil. These roller are not used for compaction of uniform
sands. The gross weight of these rollers is in the range Typical weights vary between 5.5 tonnes net and 15
of 8-10 tonnes (18000 to 22000 lbs). The other type of tonnes ballasted. Grid rollers provide high contact
smooth wheel roller is called Tandem Roller, which pressure but little kneading action and are suitable for
weighs between 6-8 tonne (13000 to 18000 lbs). compacting most coarse grained soils.
Sheepsfoot Roller Pavers
Sheepsfoot rollers are used for compacting fine grained A paver (paver finisher, asphalt finisher, paving machine)
soils such as heavy clays and silty clays. Sheepsfoot is an engineering vehicle used to lay asphalt on
rollers are used for compaction of soils in dams, roadways. It is normally fed by a dump truck. A separate
embankments, subgrade layers in pavements and rail machine, a roller, is then used to press the hot asphalt
road construction projects. Sheepsfoot rollers are of mix, resulting a smooth, even surface. The sub-base
static and vibratory types. Vibratory types rollers are being prepared by use of a grader to trim crushed stone
used for compaction of all fine grained soils and also soil to profile after rolling
with sand-gravel mixes. Generally this roller is used for
compaction of subgrade layers in road and rail projects. Road Rollers
Pneumatic Tyred Rollers A road roller (sometimes called a roller-compactor, or
just roller) is a compactor type engineering vehicle used
Pneumatic tyred rollers are also called as rubber tyred to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the
rollers. These rollers are used for compaction of coarse construction of roads and foundations. Similar rollers are
grained soils with some fines. These rollers are least used also at landfills or in agriculture.
suitable for uniform coarse soils and rocks. Generally
pneumatic tyred rollers are used in pavement subgrade Tunneling Equipment
works both earthwork and bituminous works. The total
weight of the roller can be increased from 11.0 tonne to Road Headers
25.0 tonne or more by ballasting with steel sections or
A road header machine called a boom type road header.
other means.
Road headers are advanced, self forced and extremely
Grid rollers are used for compaction of weathered rocks, powerful rock cutting machines are designed to excavate
well graded coarse soils. These rollers are not suitable roadways, tunnels and compartments continuously
for clayey soils, silty clays and uniform soils. The main without using volatile. Powered electro hydraulically, they
use of these rollers are in subgrade and sub-base in produce no fumes and are used extensively in mineral
road constructions. mining, coal mining and underground construction
projects, where their capacity to excavate the desired
Grid Roller- Soil Compaction Equipment profile without causing damaging vibrations is highly
valued for both safety environmental reasons.
As the name suggests, these rollers have a cylindrical
heavy steel surface consisting of a network of steel bars