A hydraulic shovel is a heavy machine used to dig minerals and rocks out of hillsides. It is powered by diesel engines and hydraulic power, and operated by a single trained operator. It is best used in the coal mining industry and can load huge trucks efficiently.
A hydraulic shovel is a heavy piece of equipment that can be powered by tires or tracks. The typical hydraulic shovel is a tracked machine that is used to dig coal and other minerals out of the ground and load them into huge trucks to be driven to a mill. Unlike its cousin, the tracked hoe, bucket or shovel of the hydraulic shovel is pointed forward on the boom and digs on the upsweep of the boom. The tracked hoe has a rear facing bucket and digs as the bucket is pulled back and down.
Typically powered by one or more diesel engines, the hydraulic loader uses hydraulic power for every move it makes. Diesel engines are used to drive large hydraulic pumps which push hydraulic fluid to the intended hydraulic cylinders. The hydraulic shovel is manned by a single operator, usually one who has undergone intensive education and training in operating the machine. The tracks on the machine are only intended as a means of moving the machine to the job site and any transportation to and from the site should be done by loading the large machine onto a flatbed trailer and towing it with a semi-tractor.
While track hoes are used to dig holes, a hydraulic shovel is best used to dig minerals and rocks out of a hillside. Approaching a hillside and forcing the shovel up and into the hill fills the shovel or bucket with material. The operator can swing the shovel onto a waiting truck and empty the contents of the shovel into the truck by opening the shovel in the middle. This allows the minerals to fall into the hauler as the shovel operator closes the shovel and prepares to take another scoop off the wall. Once the operator has removed enough material from the wall that the shovel can no longer reach it, he simply pushes the shovel forward onto the tracks and starts digging again.
The hydraulic shovel is used almost exclusively in the coal mining industry. Belt mining is especially suited to hydraulic shovel operating methods. By digging coal from the top down, many of the restrictions on equipment sizing are removed. By allowing the use of larger equipment, greater work capacities can be realized in the same working hours.
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