Excavation equipment has evolved from sharpened hands and sticks to mechanized machines capable of moving large amounts of earth. Loaders, backhoes, hydraulic hammers, pile drivers, cranes, and drills are among the many types used for various purposes in industries such as mining, construction, and logging.
The earliest types of digging equipment consisted of sharpened hands and sticks. Technology has moved forward and upward to the pick and shovel. From the 1800s onwards, excavation equipment was mechanized, becoming bigger, stronger, and more specialized. 21st century excavation equipment is capable of moving large amounts of earth and completing the largest of projects in record time.
Loaders are usually equipped with large metal wheels or steps, like a bulldozer or tank, and a front bucket or shovel. The shovel is attached to hydraulic arms and is used to dig and move tons of material in each load. Loaders have many different names, such as a bucket loader or a front loader. When a loader is used in an underground mine it is called a mucker.
The backhoe has a bucket loader on the front end and a small scoop on the back. Backhoes aren’t normally large pieces of digging equipment, but they can dig trenches and holes in record time. Backhoe loaders are used for purposes ranging from digging drainage ditches to discovering sewage leach fields to providing straight channels for underground power lines.
Hydraulic hammers and pile drivers serve similar uses; their purpose is to break or crush concrete, rock, or compacted soil in preparation for removal. The pile driver drives objects into the ground. It is often used to help create a solid foundation for buildings.
Cranes and backhoe loaders are huge pieces of machinery used to lift large objects such as steel beams. The crane’s pulley and rope mechanisms are designed to accept interchangeable attachments, such as wrecking balls or excavator shovels. The latter attachment is the best known. Some excavator shovels, such as those used in the mining industry, are so large that as many as 50 or more full-size dump trucks can park within the shovel area.
The list of excavation equipment is growing due to technology and demand. Large drills are often used to drill wells, sometimes thousands of feet deep, for water or oil wells. Smaller drills – commonly called “jack-legs” – are used in underground mining. Jack drills drilled precise holes in the rock being sold. Explosives are placed in the holes and the detonation removes thousands of tons of material in seconds.
Specially designed skidders, dozers, grapplers and “feller stackers” are types of excavation equipment used in the logging industry. The latter device resembles a crane, but is designed to safely grab, cut and lower full-grown trees to the ground. The first three devices help move harvested trees around the area as they are picked for transportation.
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