Wheel excavators can be classified in various ways, and the following are introductions to common classifications:
Classification by Tonnage
- Small wheel excavators: Generally, the total machine weight is around 3 tons to 10 tons. These excavators are small in size, flexible and maneuverable, suitable for working in narrow spaces, such as urban road maintenance, small-scale construction, landscaping and other fields. They are mainly used for small earth excavation, site leveling, pipeline laying and other work.
- Medium wheel excavators: The total machine weight is usually between 10 tons and 20 tons. They have relatively larger digging force and operating range, and are suitable for general-scale construction projects, road construction, water conservancy projects, etc. They can be used in various working conditions in municipal engineering, such as digging ditches, loading and unloading materials, etc.
- Large wheel excavators: The total machine weight is more than 20 tons. Large wheel excavators have strong power and digging capacity, mainly used in large-scale infrastructure construction, mining and other large-scale engineering operations. They can play an important role in large-scale building foundation construction and large earthwork projects.
Classification by Transmission Mode
- Mechanical transmission wheel excavators: The mechanical transmission system has a relatively simple structure, low cost and high transmission efficiency, but the operation is relatively laborious and has high technical requirements for drivers. It is generally suitable for occasions with relatively simple working conditions and not particularly high requirements for operation accuracy, such as small earthwork projects and simple excavation operations in the agricultural field.
- Hydraulic transmission wheel excavators: The hydraulic transmission system can realize more precise action control, the operation is more lightweight and flexible, and the digging force and operation efficiency are also higher. At present, most wheel excavators adopt hydraulic transmission mode, which can be widely used in various complex working conditions, such as municipal construction, road construction, industrial excavation and other fields.
Classification by Purpose
- General-purpose wheel excavators: They have basic digging and loading functions, and can adapt to a variety of common engineering operation scenarios, such as earth excavation, material loading and unloading, site leveling, etc. They are the most widely used type and suitable for most general engineering construction projects.
- Special-purpose wheel excavators
- Log grapple machines: Equipped with special log grapples, they are mainly used for wood loading, unloading, handling and other operations. They can quickly and accurately grab and transport wood, improving the work efficiency of the wood processing and transportation industry.
- Breaker excavators: Equipped with breaker attachments, they are used for breaking hard objects such as concrete and rocks. They play an important role in demolition projects, mining, road repair and other fields, and can break hard objects into small pieces for subsequent cleaning and handling.
- Rotary drilling rigs: Equipped with rotary drilling tools, they are mainly used for drilling operations, such as the construction of building foundation piles and bridge piles. They can quickly and efficiently complete drilling tasks under different geological conditions.
