Excavator facts for kids
An Excavator (sometimes called a backhoe or digger) is a piece of heavy construction equipment. Excavators are used to dig in the ground or to move large objects. At the base of the machine, it usually has two tracks to move it. Above the tracks is a platform that rotates (180° or 360° degrees). The operator sits in a cab and controls the excavator. One set of controls moves the machine forward and backward. Another set of controls operates the arm and the tilting bucket. hydraulic fluid, hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic motors control the machine.
Excavators come in different sizes based on the type of work they do. Some are cable-operated excavators. Some also use wheels instead of tracks.
Usage
Excavators are used in many ways:
- Digging of trenches, holes, foundations
- Material handling
- Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments
- Forestry work
- Forestry mulching
- Construction
- General grading/landscaping
- Mining, especially, but not only open-pit mining
- River dredging
- Driving piles, in conjunction with a pile driver
- Drilling shafts for footings and rock blasting, by use of an auger or hydraulic drill attachment
- Snow removal with snowplow and snow blower attachments
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A cable-operated excavator under the Northwest (now Terex) name at the Pageant of Steam grounds
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Excavator demolishing a house. Note the hydraulic thumb
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Link-Belt excavator trenching
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CAT 5230 in coal mining operation
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A L&T Komatsu excavator seen in India
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A New Holland E215 in Hamburg, Germany.
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The principle of a hydraulic excavator.
Images for kids
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House demolition by an excavator in Invermere, British Columbia.
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Hydraulic excavator controls illustration, color of the control matches the moving part.
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Liebherr 314 wheeled excavator.
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Caterpillar 350L excavator in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, 2001. Note the hydraulic thumb.
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Waterways Ireland Daewoo Solar 150LC-V crawler excavator, used for canal maintenance.
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Crawler excavator
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Crawler chassis
See also
In Spanish: Pala excavadora para niños
