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Types of Heavy Equipment

We’ve put together a list of the most popular types of heavy equipment for construction. Construction projects typically rely on several types of heavy equipment to get the job done in a timely, safe, and cost-effective manner. Depending on the size and scope of the construction project, you’ll probably need to use at least one of these pieces of heavy construction equipment.

Types of heavy equipment

17 Types of Heavy Equipment and Their Uses

From excavators and dump trucks to concrete pumps and compactors, we’ve listed the most common types of heavy equipment. Click the link to jump to the type of equipment you’re interested in learning more about.

  1. Excavators
  2. Loaders
  3. Paving Machines
  4. Backhoes
  5. Bulldozers
  6. Dump Trucks
  7. Trenchers
  8. Compactors
  9. Graders
  10. Telehandlers
  11. Backhoe Loaders
  12. Tower Cranes
  13. Feller Bunchers
  14. Dragline Excavator
  15. Wheel Tractor Scraper
  16. Pile Driving Machines
  17. Concrete Pumps

Excavators

Excavators (hydraulic) consist of a boom, dipper or stick, bucket, and cab on a rotating platform known as the “house”. The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression from the steam shovels and are often mistaken for power shovels. 

All movement and functions of a hydraulic excavator are accomplished through the use of hydraulic fluid, hydraulic cylinders, and hydraulic motors. Due to the linear actuation of hydraulic cylinders, their mode of operation is fundamentally different from cable-operated excavators which use winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements.

Excavators are also called diggers, mechanical shovels, or 360-degree excavators. Sometimes they’re abbreviated as “360”. Tracked excavators are sometimes called “trackhoes” by analogy to the backhoe.

Excavators are used in many ways:

  • Digging of trenches, holes, foundations
  • Material handling
  • Brush cutting with a hydraulic saw and mower attachments
  • Forestry work
  • Forestry mulching
  • Construction
  • Demolition with a hydraulic claw, cutter, and breaker attachments
  • 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

Loaders

A wheel loader is a machine used in construction to move aside or load materials such as asphalt, demolition debris, dirt, snow, feed, gravel, logs, raw minerals, recycled material, rock, sand, woodchips, etc. These materials are usually put onto other types of machinery such as a dump truck, conveyor belt, feed-hopper, or railroad car. 

There are many types of loaders. Depending on design and application, they’re called by various names, including:

  • Bucket Loader
  • Front Loader
  • Front-end Loader
  • Payloader
  • Scoop 
  • Shovel
  • Skip Loader
  • Wheel Loader
  • Skid-steer
  • Tractor Front Loader
  • Compact Front End Loader
  • Swing Loader

Paving Machines

pavers

A paver (a.k.a. paver finisher, asphalt finisher, or paving machine) is a piece of construction equipment used to lay asphalt on roads, bridges, parking lots, and other places. It lays the asphalt flat and provides minor compaction before it’s compacted by a roller.

The asphalt paver was developed by Barber Greene Co., which originally manufactured material handling systems. In 1929 the Chicago Testing Laboratory approached them to use their material loaders to construct asphalt roads.

Large freeways are often paved with concrete and this is done using a slipform paver. Trucks dump loads of ready-mix concrete in front of a slipform paver; the concrete is then spread out and leveled off using a screed.

Backhoes

A backhoe (a.k.a. rear actor, back actor, or digger) is a type of excavating equipment consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latter forming a “backhoe loader”.

The section of the arm closest to the vehicle is known as the boom, while the section that carries the bucket is known as the dipper or dipper-stick, both terms derived from steam shovels. The boom is generally attached to the vehicle through a pivot known as the king-post, which allows the arm to pivot left and right, usually through a total of 180 to 200 degrees.

Bulldozers

Typically, bulldozers are powerful, tracked heavy equipment. The tracks give them excellent ground holding capability and mobility through very rough terrain. Wide tracks help distribute the bulldozer’s weight over a large area (decreasing ground pressure), thus preventing it from sinking in sandy or muddy ground. Extra-wide tracks are known as swamp tracks or LGP (low ground pressure) tracks. 

Bulldozers have transmission systems designed to take advantage of the track system and provide excellent tractive force. Because of these attributes, bulldozers are often used in 

  • Road Building
  • Construction
  • Mining
  • Forestry
  • Land Clearing
  • Infrastructure Development

and any other projects requiring highly mobile, powerful, and stable earth-moving equipment.

Another type of bulldozer is the wheeled bulldozer, which generally has four wheels driven by a 4-wheel-drive system and has a hydraulic, articulated steering system. The blade is mounted forward of the articulation joint and is hydraulically actuated.

The bulldozer’s primary tools are the blade and the ripper.

Blade

The bulldozer blade is a heavy metal plate on the front of the tractor, used to push objects, and shove sand, soil, debris, and sometimes snow. Dozer blades usually come in three varieties:

  1. A straight blade (“S blade”) is short and has no lateral curve and no side wings and can be used for fine grading.
  2. A universal blade (“U blade”) is tall, very curved, and has large side wings to carry more material.
  3. An “S-U” (semi-U) combination blade is shorter, has less curvature, and has smaller side wings. This blade is typically used for pushing piles of large rocks, such as at a quarry.

Blades can be fitted straight across the frame, or at an angle, sometimes using additional ’tilt cylinders’ to vary the angle while moving. The bottom edge of the blade can be sharpened, e.g. to cut tree stumps.

Ripper

The ripper is the long claw-like device on the back of the bulldozer. Rippers can come as a single shank/giant ripper, or in groups of two or more multi-shank rippers. 

Usually, a single shank is preferred for heavy ripping. The ripper shank is fitted with a replaceable tungsten steel alloy tip, referred to as a ‘boot’. Ripping rock breaks the ground surface rock or pavement into small rubble easy to handle and transport, which can then be removed so grading can take place. 

With agricultural ripping, a farmer breaks up rocky or very hard earth such as podzol hardpan, which is otherwise unploughable, in order to farm it.

The word “bulldozer” is sometimes used inaccurately for other similar construction vehicles such as a large front loader.

Dump Trucks

A dump truck, also known as a dumper truck or tipper truck, is used for taking dumps such as sand, gravel, or demolition waste for construction. A typical dump truck is equipped with an open-box bed, which is hinged at the rear and equipped with hydraulic rams to lift the front, allowing the material in the bed to be deposited (“dumped”) on the ground behind the truck at the site of delivery

Learn more about Dump Truck >>Complete Guide for Dump Trucks

Types of Dump Trucks

There are several types of dump trucks for pretty much any application you can think of. Below is a breakdown of the different types of dump trucks.

STANDARD DUMP TRUCK

A standard dump truck is a truck chassis with a dump body mounted to the frame. The bed is raised by a vertical hydraulic ram mounted under the front of the body or a horizontal hydraulic ram and lever arrangement between the frame rails, and the back of the bed is hinged at the back of the truck. 

The tailgate can be configured to swing up on top hinges (and sometimes also to fold down on lower hinges) or it can be configured in the “High Lift Tailgate” format wherein pneumatic rams lift the gate open and up above the dump body.

SEMI-TRAILER END DUMP TRUCK

A semi-end dump is a tractor-trailer combination wherein the trailer itself contains the hydraulic hoist. In the US a typical semi-end dump has a 3-axle tractor pulling a 2-axle trailer with dual tires. 

The key advantage of a semi-end dump is a large payload. A key disadvantage is that they are very unstable when raised in the dumping position limiting their use in many applications where the dumping location is uneven or off level.

TRANSFER DUMP TRUCK

A transfer dump truck is a standard dump truck pulling a separate trailer with a movable cargo container, which can also be loaded with construction aggregate, gravel, sand, asphalt, klinkers, snow, wood chips, triple mix, etc.

The second aggregate container on the trailer (“B” box) is powered by an electric motor, a pneumatic motor, or a hydraulic line. It rolls on small wheels, riding on rails from the trailer’s frame into the empty main dump container (“A” box). This maximizes payload capacity without sacrificing the maneuverability of the standard dump truck. Transfer dump trucks are typically seen in the western United States due to the peculiar weight restrictions on highways there.

TRUCK AND PUP

A truck and pup are very similar to a transfer dump. It consists of a standard dump truck pulling a dump trailer. The pup trailer, unlike the transfer, has its own hydraulic ram and is capable of self-unloading.

SUPER DUMP TRUCK

A super dump is a straight dump truck equipped with a trailing axle, a liftable, load-bearing axle rated as high as 13,000 pounds. Trailing 11 to 13 feet behind the rear tandem, the trailing axle stretches the outer “bridge” measurement, the distance between the first and last axles, to the maximum overall length allowed. 

This increases the gross weight allowed under the federal bridge formula, which sets standards for truck size and weight. Depending on the vehicle length and axle configuration, Superdumps can be rated as high as 80,000 pounds. GVW and carry 26 short tons of payload or more. 

When the truck is empty or ready to offload, the trailing axle toggles up off the road surface on two hydraulic arms to clear the rear of the vehicle.

SEMI-TRAILER BOTTOM DUMP TRUCK

A semi bottom dump or belly dump is a 3-axle tractor pulling a 2-axle trailer with a clamshell-type dump gate in the belly of the trailer. 

The key advantage of a semi-bottom dump is its ability to lay material in a windrow, a linear heap. In addition, a semi-bottom dump is maneuverable in reverse, unlike the double and triple trailer configurations described below. 

These trailers may be found either of the windrow type shown in the photo or maybe of the cross spread type, with the gate opening front to rear instead of left and right. The cross-spread type gate will actually spread the cereal grains fairly and evenly from the width of the trailer. 

By comparison, the windrow-type gate leaves a pile in the middle. The cross-spread type gate, on the other hand, tends to jam and may not work very well with coarse materials.

DOUBLE & TRIPLE TRAILER BOTTOM DUMP TRUCK

Double and triple bottom dumps consist of a 2-axle tractor pulling one single-axle semi-trailer and an additional full trailer (or two full trailers in the case of triples). These dump trucks allow the driver to lay material in windrows without leaving the cab or stopping the truck. 

The main disadvantage is the difficulty in backing double and triple units.

SIDE DUMP TRUCK

A side dump truck also known as an SDT consists of a 3-axle tractor pulling a 2-axle semi-trailer. It has hydraulic rams that tilt the dump body onto its side, spilling the material to either the left or right side of the trailer. The key advantages of the side dump are that it allows rapid unloading and can carry more weight. 

In addition, it is almost immune to upset or tipping over while dumping, unlike the semi-end dumps which are very prone to tipping over. It is, however, highly likely that a side dump trailer will tip over if dumping is stopped prematurely. 

Also, when dumping loose materials or cobble-sized stone, the side dump can become stuck if the pile becomes wide enough to cover too much of the trailer’s wheels. 

Trailers that dump at the appropriate angle, 50° for example, avoid the problem of the dumped load fouling the path of the trailer wheels by dumping their loads further to the side of the truck, in some cases leaving sufficient clearance to walk between the dumped load and the trailer.

WINTER SERVICE VEHICLES

Many winter service vehicles are based on dump trucks, to allow the placement of ballast to weigh the truck down or to hold sodium or calcium chloride salts for spreading on snow and ice-covered surfaces. Plowing is a severe service and needs heavy-duty trucks.

ROLL-OFF TRUCKS

A Roll-off has a hoist and subframe, but nobody, it carries removable containers. The container is loaded on the ground, then pulled onto the back of the truck with a winch and cable. The truck goes to the dumpsite after it has been dumped the empty container is taken and placed to be loaded or stored. 

The hoist is raised and the container slides down the subframe so the rear is on the ground. The container has rollers on the rear and can be moved forward or back until the front of it is lowered onto the ground. 

The containers are usually open-topped boxes used for rubble and building debris, but rubbish compactor containers are also carried. A newer hook-lift system does the same job, but lifts/lower and dumps the container with a boom arrangement instead of a cable and hoist.

OFF-HIGHWAY DUMP TRUCKS

Off-highway dump trucks are heavy construction equipment and share little resemblance to highway dump trucks. Bigger off-highway dump trucks are used strictly off-road for mining and heavy dirt hauling jobs. 

There are two primary forms: a rigid frame and an articulating frame. The term “dump” truck is not generally used by the mining industry, or by the manufacturers that build these machines. The more appropriate U.S. term for this strictly off-road vehicle is “haul truck”.

HAUL TRUCK

Haul trucks are used in large surface mines and quarries. They have a rigid frame and conventional steering with the drive at the rear wheel. As of late 2013, the largest ever production haul truck is the 450 metric ton BelAZ 75710, followed by the Liebherr T 282B, the Bucyrus MT6300AC, and the Caterpillar 797F, which each have payload capacities of up to 400 short tons. 

Most large haul trucks employ Diesel-electric powertrains, using the Diesel engine to drive an AC alternator or DC generator that sends electric power to electric motors at each rear wheel. The Caterpillar 797 is unique for its size, as it employs a Diesel engine to power a mechanical powertrain, typical of most road-going vehicles and intermediary size haul trucks. 

Other major manufacturers of haul trucks include SANY, XCMG, Hitachi, Komatsu, DAC, Terex, and BelAZ.

ARTICULATED HAULER

An articulated dumper is an all-wheel-drive, off-road dump truck. It has a hinge between the cab and the dump box but is distinct from a semi-trailer truck in that the power unit is a permanent fixture, not a separable vehicle. 

Steering is accomplished via hydraulic cylinders that pivot the entire tractor in relation to the trailer, rather than a rack and pinion steering on the front axle as in a conventional dump truck. 

By this way of steering, the trailer’s wheels follow the same path as the front wheels. Together with all-wheel drive and a low center of gravity, it is highly adaptable to rough terrain. Major manufacturers include Volvo CE, Terex, John Deere, and Caterpillar.

Dump Truck Financing

Trenchers

trencher

A trencher is a piece of construction equipment used to dig trenches, especially for laying pipes or electrical cables, for installing drainage, or in preparation for trench warfare. Trenchers may range in size from walk-behind models to attachments for a skid loader or tractor, to very heavy-tracked equipment.

5 Types of Trenchers

  1. Wheel Trencher – A wheel trencher or rockwheel is composed of a toothed metal wheel. It is cheaper to operate and maintain than chain-type trenchers. It can work in hard or soft soils, either homogeneous – compact rocks, silts, sands, or heterogeneous – split or broken rock, alluvia, moraines.
  2. Chain Trencher – A chain trencher cuts with a digging chain or belt that is driven around a rounded metal frame, or boom. It resembles a giant chainsaw. This type of trencher can cut ground that is too hard to cut with a bucket-type excavator and can also cut narrow and deep trenches.
  3. Micro Trencher – A micro trencher is a “small rockwheel” specially designed for work in urban areas. It is fitted with a cutting wheel that cuts a micro trench with smaller dimensions than can be achieved with conventional trench digging equipment.
  4. Portable Trencher – Landscapers and lawn care specialists may use a portable trencher to install landscape edging and irrigation lines. These machines are lightweight (around 200 pounds) and are easily maneuverable compared to other types of trenchers. The cutting implement may be a chain or a blade similar to a rotary lawnmower blade oriented so that it rotates in a vertical plane.
  5. Tractor-Mount Trencher A tractor-mount trencher is a trenching device that needs a creeping gear tractor to operate. This type of trencher is another type of chain trencher. The tractor should be able to go as slowly as the trencher’s trenching speed.

Compactors

A compactor in construction has three main types: 

  1. The Plate 
  2. The Rammer
  3. The Road Roller 

The plate compactor, vibrating plate, or tamper, has a large vibrating baseplate and is suited for creating a level grade.

The rammer compactor has a smaller foot. The rammer, or trench rammer, is mainly used to compact the backfill in narrow trenches for water or gas supply pipes, etc… Road rollers may also have vibrating rollers.

Roller compactors are used for compacting crushed rock as the base layer underneath concrete or stone foundations or slabs. 

In plates and rollers, the vibration is provided by rapidly rotating eccentric masses. In smaller plates, the vibration causes a tendency to move forwards, while some larger plates are provided with directional control. 

In the rammer, the foot is mounted on a sleeve that slides vertically in the leg. Inside the sleeve, a piston is driven up and down by the engine through a reduction gear, crank, and connecting rod. Substantial coil springs above and below the piston connect it to the sliding sleeve. 

The connection between the sleeve and foot is a small angle so that the whole rammer leans away from the operator. The vibrating motion is therefore slightly off the vertical, and this gives the rammer a tendency to ‘walk’ forwards. The sliding joint in the leg is protected by flexible bellows.

Graders

A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader or a motor grader, is a construction machine with a long blade used to create a flat surface during the grading process. Although the earliest models were towed behind horses or other powered equipment, most modern graders contain an engine, so are known, technically erroneously, as “motor graders”. 

Typical models have three axles, with the engine and cab situated above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle and a third axle at the front end of the vehicle, with the blade in between. 

Most motor graders drive the rear axles in tandem, but some also add front-wheel drive to improve grading capability. Many graders also have optional attachments for the rear of the machine which can be ripper, scarifier, blade, or compactor. 

For snowplowing and some dirt grading operations, side blades can also be mounted. Some construction personnel refers to the entire machine as “the blade”. Capacities range from a blade width of 8 ft to 24 ft and engines from 125 hp–500 hp. 

Certain graders can operate multiple attachments, or be designed for specialized tasks like underground mining.

Grader Manufacturers

  • Case Corporation
  • Caterpillar Inc.
  • Deere & Company
  • Galion Iron Works
  • HEPCO
  • Komatsu Limited
  • LiuGong Construction Machinery, LLC.
  • Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
  • New Holland Machine Company
  • Sany
  • Sinomach
  • Terex Corporation
  • Volvo
  • Mahindra & Mahindra

Telehandlers (Telescopic Handler)

A telescopic handler, also called a telehandler, teleporter, reach forklift, or boom lift is a machine widely used in agriculture and industry. It is somewhat like a forklift but has a boom (Telescopic cylinder), making it more a crane than a forklift, with the increased versatility of a single telescopic or articulating boom that can extend forwards and upwards from the vehicle. 

At the end of the boom, the operator can fit one of several attachments, such as a bucket, pallet forks, muck grab, or winch. Telehandlers are sometimes called cherry pickers in North America, as that name can refer to any truck or heavy equipment that has such a boom.

In industry, the most common attachment for a telehandler is pallet forks and the most common application is to move loads to and from places unreachable for a conventional forklift. 

For example, telehandlers have the ability to remove palletized cargo from within a trailer and to place loads on rooftops and other high places. The latter application would otherwise require a crane, which is not always practical or time-efficient.

In agriculture the most common attachment for a telehandler is a bucket or bucket grab, again the most common application is to move loads to and from places unreachable for a ‘conventional machine’ which in this case is a wheeled loader or backhoe loader.

Backhoe Loaders

A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, digger in layman’s terms, or colloquially shortened to backhoe within the industry, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor-like unit fitted with a loader-style shovel/bucket on the front and a backhoe on the back. 

Due to its relatively small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects such as building a small house, fixing urban roads, etc.. as well as developing countries. 

This type of machine is similar to and derived from what is now known as a TLB (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe), which is to say, an agricultural tractor fitted with a front loader and rear backhoe attachment.

Tower Cranes

tower crane

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. 

It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. 

The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. 

Cranes are commonly employed in the transport industry for the loading and unloading of freight, in the construction industry for the movement of materials, and in the manufacturing industry for the assembling of heavy equipment.

Tower cranes are a modern form of balance cranes that consist of the same basic parts. Fixed to the ground on a concrete slab and sometimes attached to the sides of structures, tower cranes often give the best combination of height and lifting capacity and are used in the construction of tall buildings. 

The base is then attached to the mast which gives the crane its height. Further, the mast is attached to the slewing unit (gear and motor) that allows the crane to rotate. On top of the slewing unit, there are three main parts which are: the long horizontal jib (working arm), the shorter counter-jib, and the operator’s cab.

Feller Bunchers

A feller buncher is a type of harvester used in logging. It is a motorized vehicle with an attachment that can rapidly gather and cut a tree before felling it.

Feller is a traditional name for someone who cuts down trees, and bunching is the skidding and assembly of two or more trees. 

A feller buncher performs both of these harvesting functions and consists of a standard heavy equipment base with a tree-grabbing device furnished with a chain-saw, circular saw, or a shear—a pinching device designed to cut small trees off at the base. The machine then places the cut tree on a stack suitable for a skidder, forwarder, or yarder for transport to further processing such as delimbing, bucking, loading, or chipping.

Some wheeled feller bunchers lack an articulated arm and must drive close to a tree to grasp it.

Dragline Excavator

Dragline Excavator

A dragline excavator is a piece of heavy equipment used in civil engineering and surface mining.

Draglines fall into two broad categories: those that are based on standard, lifting cranes, and the heavy units which have to be built on-site. Most crawler cranes, with an added winch drum on the front, can act as a dragline. These units (like other cranes) are designed to be dismantled and transported over the road on flatbed trailers. 

Draglines used in civil engineering are almost always of this smaller, crane type. These are used for road, port construction, pond, canal dredging, and pile driving rigs. These types are built by crane manufacturers such as Link-Belt and Hyster.

The much larger type which is built on site is commonly used in strip-mining operations to remove overburden above coal and more recently for oil sands mining. The largest heavy draglines are among the largest mobile land machines ever built. The smallest and most common of the heavy type weigh around 8,000 tons while the largest built weighed around 13,000 tons.

A dragline bucket system consists of a large bucket that is suspended from a boom (a large truss-like structure) with wire ropes. The bucket is maneuvered by means of a number of ropes and chains. The hoist rope, powered by large diesel or electric motors, supports the bucket and hoist-coupler assembly from the boom. The drag rope is used to draw the bucket assembly horizontally. By skillful maneuver of the hoist and the drag ropes, the bucket is controlled for various operations. A schematic of a large dragline bucket system is shown below.

Wheel Tractor Scraper

In civil engineering, a wheel tractor-scraper is a piece of heavy equipment used for earthmoving. The rear part of the scraper has a vertically moveable hopper with a sharp horizontal front edge that can be raised or lowered. The front edge cuts into the soil, like a carpenter’s plane cutting wood, and fills the hopper. When the hopper is full it is raised, closed, and the scraper can transport its load to the fill area where it is dumped. With a type called an ‘elevating scraper,’ a conveyor belt moves material from the cutting edge into the hopper.

Scraper Configurations

  • Open bowl: usually requires a push-cart (bulldozer or similar) to assist in loading.
  • Elevating scraper: self-loading as it uses an elevator to load material; requires no push-cat.
  • Tandem scrapers: separate tractor and scraper engines provide better traction in steep or slippery areas; a push cat is required except when loading loose materials.
  • Tandem Push-Pull: concentrates the combined horsepower of two such machines onto one cutting edge. The push-pull attachment allows two individual scrapers to act as a self-loading system, typically loading both machines in less than a minute, one after the other.
  • Auger uses a vertically mounted auger in the bowl to pull material upwards.
  • Pull type scraper: uses an agricultural tractor, articulated dump truck, or bulldozer to pull. Pull type scrapers can be utilized individually or two or three units can be pulled behind a single tractor.

Pile Driving Machines

A pile driver is a device used to drive piles into the soil to provide foundation support for buildings or other structures. The term is also used in reference to members of the construction crew that works with pile-driving rigs.

One type of pile driver uses a weight placed between guides so that it can slide vertically. It is placed above a pile. The weight is raised, which may involve the use of hydraulics, steam, diesel, or manual labor. When the weight reaches its highest point it is released, and hits the pile, driving it into the ground.

Types of Pile Driving Machines

  • Diesel Hammer
  • Vertical Travel Lead Systems
  • Hydraulic Hammer
  • Hydraulic Press-in
  • Vibratory pile driver/extractor
  • Piling rig

Piling Rigs Categories

  1. Small-sized – torque is around 60–100 kN m, engine power 108 kW, drilling diameter 0.5–1.2 m, drilling depth 40 m, total quality 40 t.
  2. Middle-sized – torque is around 120–180 kN m, engine power 125–200 kW, drilling diameter 0.8–1.8 m, drilling depth 60 m, total quality 42–65 t.
  3. Large-sized – torque is around 240 kN m, engine power 300 kW, drilling diameter 1–2.5 m, drilling depth 80 m, total quality 100 t.

Concrete Pumps

A concrete pump is a machine used for transferring liquid concrete by pumping. There are two types of concrete pumps.

The first type of concrete pump is attached to a truck or longer units are on semi-trailers. It is known as a boom concrete pump because it uses a remote-controlled articulating robotic arm (called a boom) to place concrete accurately. Boom pumps are used on most of the larger construction projects as they are capable of pumping at very high volumes and because of the labor-saving nature of the placing boom. They are a revolutionary alternative to line-concrete pumps.

The second main type of concrete pump is either mounted on a truck or placed on a trailer, and it is commonly referred to as a line pump or trailer-mounted concrete pump. This pump requires steel or flexible concrete placing hoses to be manually attached to the outlet of the machine. Those hoses are linked together and lead to wherever the concrete needs to be placed. 

The length of the hoses varies by 10’, 12.5’, 25’, and 50’ depending on the diameter of the hose. Line pumps normally pump concrete at lower volumes than boom pumps and are used for smaller volume concrete placing applications such as swimming pools, sidewalks, single-family home concrete slabs, and most ground slabs.

There are also skid-mounted and rail-mounted concrete pumps, but these are uncommon and only used on specialized job sites such as mines and tunnels.

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