Category Archives: Commercial

How To Install Hydraulic Thumbs In Excavators?

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Construction excavators are made to design to lift heavy objects. The hydraulic thumbs in the excavators assist it to hold the freight. The thumbs are mostly detachable which moves both in the forward and backward direction to let the bucket slide around a heavy object. Steel of high quality is used to design it. It has hype bracing which adds to its strength. The working of the hydraulic thumb excavator is managed through a series of controls and levers strategically positioned to operate the machine by permitting the bucket to work like a mechanical hand. It drags the bucket towards it by squeezing the load against the excavator’s bucket. The bucket easily picks up the load and shifts it to some other place.

Applications of hydraulic thumb excavators

The Hydraulic thumb excavators are mainly manufactured to handle and load various objects with ease. They are used in the construction site to lift rocks, debris and the like which is not otherwise possible for the bucket to transport alone. You can also take out the thumb while doing normal work of excavations as it back off against the stick.

To install the hydraulic thumb in the excavator is not tiresome at all. In fact, it includes some simple steps which should be carried out carefully.

Steps to install hydraulic thumbs in excavators

  • Park your excavator on a level and smooth ground surface. You have to drop out some space to adjust the forklift in order to place the hydraulic thumb.
  • Now, place the hydraulic thumb close to the edge of the excavator’s arm on the ground. Slightly lower the machine’s arms to line up the arm’s holes with the holes in the hydraulic thumb.
  • Mount the Thumb pad to the stick of the excavator and then connect it with the hydraulics.
  • The gap between the bracket of the hydraulic thumb and the bucket should be at least one inch. The bucket should not touch the base of the thumb plate in curl up position.
  • Lock the thumb properly to prevent it from jiggling and down drifting.
  • The teeth of the excavator and the bucket should be aligned in left to right direction. To do this, you have to pull aside the bucket and lengthen the thumb. Check all the positions of the hydraulic thumb to make sure that the thumb hooks align with the teeth of the bucket.
  • After that, go for welding the arms of the equipment. Welding should always be done in parallel with the axis of the excavator’s arm.
  • The sealing and the lubricants should be replaceable one. Try to use pins and bushings which are already treated with heat so that heat cannot damage it easily.

You should perform some tests to nail down that the bucket and other connectors squeeze the hydraulic thumb. Any kind of failure to carry out the test will have adverse effects on cylinders, pins, sticks, brackets and thumbs. Don’t just waste your time in thinking, go forward, think straight and install the Hydraulic thumb to enlarge the sphere of the excavator’s application.

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Types of renting heavy equipment

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Most of the equipment manufacturers have an affiliated renting company. It permits them to assist their customer’s monetary transactions quite easily.

There are three main types of renting- finance renting, operating renting and contract hire.

Types of renting

  • Finance leasing: – It is also known as full payout lease. This kind of leasing or renting helps you to get all the financial advantages and risks without any legal title. This renting rate is calculated to get the total value of the asset including finance costs during the contract time period. The asset is handover to a third party at the end of the renting period. Here, you can get a lion’s share in the proceeding sales. This can happen only if the renting period is not extended. You cannot become the owner of the equipment at anytime, unless you go for a private arrangement with the third party. As you can extend your renting contract period and already have paid almost the full amount during the initial phase, so you have to pay very little during the later extended period of the contract. It is sometimes referred to as “papercorn rental”.
  • Operating lease: – Unlike financial leasing, operating renting is like a regular rental. It comes with a smaller time period. The renter here tries either to sell the equipment in a second-hand market or to rent it again to avoid the need to regain the total asset price by the regular lease payments. There may be a choice for elongating the renting span at the end of the initial rental phase. Just like the financial renting, you cannot become the owner of the equipment at any point of the time. But, contrary to financial leases, you will not get a single penny in the sales procedure.
  • Contract Hire: – It is another kind of operating lease which involves a lot of services such as management, maintenance or replacement if the equipment needs to be repaired.
  • Hire purchase:- In this kind of leasing agreement, you will get an option to purchase the equipment. They will confer the legal title to you when you have cleared al the payments. The term of a hire purchase should be notably shorter than the working life of the equipment. As you have bought the machine outright, you can easily claim capital allowances from the renting company to make as much profit from it as you can. Hire purchase agreements are written especially for domestic users only. Business owners can avail this type of renting.

 

It is very important for you to count on your future needs. Every kind of renting option has its own merits and demerits. It will have an everlasting effect on your monthly payments. The renting payment heavily depends upon the total value of the equipment, rate of interest and duration of the renting.

If you have any query regarding the procedure of renting and its terms and conditions, then you should immediately seek the help of your advisor for further assessment.

Choose Suitable Motor Grader for your Construction Business from the Top Ten List

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With the development made in motor graders, large numbers of construction companies are procuring this heavy equipment for exhuming and shaping the surface accurately where footpath will be placed. In past few years the heavy construction equipment manufacturing organisations continuously proffering various sizes of motor graders with upgraded version to satisfy the punters completely.

Motor grader is construction equipment that is also recognised by the contractors and construction personnel in the names of grader, a maintainer, a blade or a road grader. Usually, motor graders are obtainable with a blade that is fitted between the facade and rear helms. If you are in the field of civil engineering and want to know about the latest demanding motor graders, then start reading every word of this following piece thoroughly and come to know about the top ten models of road graders.

Top Ten Appealing Heavy Motor Graders 

G930B is an efficient motor grader which is manufactured by Volvo Construction Equipment Company. This bulky paraphernalia is equipped with tier-4 engine and multiple power settings. Care track telematics is its special feature. The customers can also get the choice of 11 speed transmissions.

GD555 is the medium size grader that is constructed by Komatsu construction equipment organisation. It is available with the blade girth of 14ft and 12ft respectively. This equipment has the features of forward mount power train and long wheel base.

12M3 road grader is the product of the well-renowned construction equipment manufacturing company, Caterpillar. The speed of the engine equipped in this bulky grader is 2000rpm. Due to its emission reduction technology, it is acknowledged as the most durable motor grader in the souk.

G940B is the popular motor grader of Volvo Construction Equipment Organisation. This bulky loader is equipped with tier-4 engine that assists in increasing the torque and power qualities. It delivers optimum power in every gear and reduces the fuel consumption and helm slippage.

845B is the renowned motor grader that is built by Case Construction equipment manufacturing company. The ripper of this apparatus has the ability to put up five teeth in total. Due to its multi-radius involute mouldboard design, its fuel efficiency power is excellent.

140M3 is a type of road grader which is facilitated to the punters with power shift, direct drive and APECS transmissions. The brake parking quality of this apparatus gains popularity due to the use of multiple oil disc. The pump type of this Cat motor grader is variable piston.

G946B is the eminent motor grader of Volvo Construction Equipment concern. The 11 speed transmission option of this grader helps the machinist to work with slower gears for fine grading process. Its exclusive feature is the care track telematics.

14M is the Cat M series motor grader which is obtainable to the customers with the bore and stroke facilities of 5.1in and 5.5in respectively. The maximum velocity of this grader is 31.3mph.

865B motor grader is the efficient product of Case Construction organisation. Its operating weight is 33,796lb. The engine power of this equipment is available in varied options like 178, 190 or 205hp.

24M is the M series grader of Caterpillar construction equipment manufacturing company. In its first gear the base power is 533.0hp. The maximum system pressure of this apparatus is 3500.0 psi.

Road graders are being manufactured with refined control units so as to permit the machinists to do the complex works easily. So, if you want to procure the most suitable motor grader for your construction business, then browse the internet to know more information about these abovementioned models.

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Making the most from your oil analysis data

Oil analysis also known as OA is used to get accurate information of the lubricant and the condition of the machine. With the help of oil analysis one can eliminate heavy costs involved in the maintenance of the machine. Tribologists are there to interpret the data of oil analysis.

Oil analysis helps to identify two primary oil conditions that can cause hazards to the equipment:

  • Measuring the acid number and oil viscosity help to detect the chemical changes that has occurred due to thermal degradation of the oil.
  • Metallic contaminants in the oil are detected by Atomic Emission Spectroscopy which also indicates lube mixing.

Tribologists use the Oil analysis data and distinguish the new oil from the used one to replace the oil at the correct time. A careful Oil analysis data sometimes make the oil sweetened either by putting some quantity of fresh oil or by adding replenishing additives that were drained.

What is the use of oil analysis?

  • Amount of dirt contaminants present in the oil.
  • Fuel liquefaction of lubrication oil.
  • Limitless bearing wear.
  • Quantity of antifreeze in the oil.
  • Lubricant is correctly applied or not.

Through oil analysis one can peer inside the engine, transmission and hydraulic system without dismantling the machine.

How to take an oil sample for oil analysis?

An oil sample represents the condition of all of the oil in the machine. It is useful to get the oil hot and thoroughly mixed before taking it as a sample.

Taking the oil sample at the time of draining is more preferable because during draining some of the used oil will be drained and one could store the remaining oil in an appropriate container.

One can have oil sample by sucking out the oil by connecting a plastic tube with the oil reservoir.

How to choose the best oil analysis laboratory?

There are many oil analysis laboratory and choosing the right one is definitely a herculean task. Some points are given below that may help one to choose the right laboratory.

  • Turnaround time is one of the most important factors. It means the time which the laboratory has taken to test the sample. It should be 24 to 48 hours after the sample has been received by the lab.
  • Alert notification through email, telephone call, fax or by sending message should be given to the person if some kind of abnormality is detected during testing.
  • One has to find out whether the industry is specialised in that kind of testing equipment’s oil or not.
  • The analyst should interpret the environmental information, condition of the fluid, contaminants parameters and machine wear parameters and directs the person for the next step that should be taken to save the machine.
  • One should find out a laboratory that performs wide range of tests and not only one that fits the person.
  • Oil analysis test is mainly based on “you get what you pay for.” So one should not prefer price over quality service.

Oil analysis data serve as a tool to measure the condition of lubrication management procedure. So it is important to make the most from oil analysis data and prevent the machine from its early breakdown.

 

 

 

Top 10 Fantastic Types of Excavators

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Excavators are heavy equipments used for mining, digging and moving bulky objects. There are different types of Excavators. Here are top 10 fantastic types of Excavators.

Compact Excavator-It is that type of excavator which is basically a wheel vehicle with backfill blade and boom swing that operates independently. It can weight approximately 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. Its structure has three separate division .The first division is house second one is undercarriage and lastly the workgroup. The hydraulic motors assist in travel functions as well as rotating the vehicle.

Dragline Excavator-Dragline Excavator finds its application in civil engineering and mining of surfaces.

It his divided into two categories

The first categories are cranes which are used for lifting materials. It is heavy in size and is provided with winch drum situated at the front side which acts as a dragline.

The second category is relatively smaller than the first category and is used for civil engineering purposes like constructing roads, bridges, port etc. It is also used for cleaning ponds and canals as well as driving heap rigs.

Wheel Excavator-This type finds application in surface mining. It is very large in size. It has a large round wheel as it name suggests with an arrangement of scoops which help in its rotation. All the materials are carried away from the machine by the discharge boom.

Reclaimer– A Reclaimer is a type of excavator which is used for handling large objects and eliminating heaps of materials. Reclaimers move on a rail between stockpiles. They perform all the instructions with the help of a remote control. All the modern reclaimers functions automatically whereas the older reclaimers are operated manually.

Digger Excavators-Such Excavators are heavy equipments and also has three separate divisions which are house, undercarriage and workgroup. The house comprises of boom and sticks. The second division which is the undercarriage consists of wheels and tracks. It is operated by cables.

Dredging– This vessel is used for cleaning and collecting the sediments and silt deposits in the bottom of the seas or lakes and disposing them to another place. Dredging helps to keep the seas and lakes traversable which would have otherwise become swallow due to presence of silt deposits making the seas and rivers unsuitable for navigation.

Apart from this dredging is also used for making harbours and channels in the sea for accessibility of larger ships. Other uses of dredging include mining of ocean floor, mining of sea beaches that are badly eroded by gales, eradicating garbage and debris, land reclamation etc.

Steam Shovel-The first Steam Shovel was invented by William Otis in the year 1839.

This excavation type is a large machine powered by steam. It finds in application in moving soil and rock. Steam shovel has contributed heavily in public works which dates back to 19th century. This equipment finds its application in constructing rails, roads and canals. They are also used for digging canals, building roads and railways and for mining purposes.

 

Vacuum Excavator-Vacuum Excavator is a vehicle which is used mainly for removing debris on land that is heavy. It is also used for eliminating soil from hole. Its structure consists of a suction nozzle with two knobs which the operator holds with his hands to grip it. For cutting soil and sucking up debris it has a tooth situated at the end of the tube.

Trencher-This type of Excavator is used for mining trenches, deploying drainage. It comes in different sizes and models. There are four different  kinds of trenchers includes Micro Trencher, Portable Trencher, Chain Trencher, Wheel Trencher.

Slurry Wall Excavator– They are used in the construction of concrete walls in those areas which are situated close to ground water table to block the walls enclosing tunnels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Get Rid Of Debris- Use Skelton Buckets

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Do you own a farmland that needs clearing off small bushes? Or does the construction site you are working on requires to be cleaned off its debris? If yes, then how about using Skelton buckets for the purpose? Not only will they you clear your land off debris, but they will also help in uprooting scrubs and bushes and make the land suitable for your purpose.

Getting To Know the Skelton Bucket

Rocks and debris, like a lot of other things, are an inevitable part of the construction industry. However, they are not a necessary presence, inevitable though it might be. Clearing the site of these debris, therefore, forms an important part of the entire business. And it is because of this reason that the Skelton bucket has come to hold such an important position in the industry.

Available in the dimensions of eighty-four inches, seventy-two inches and sixty-six inches wide, the Skelton bucket is a great tool for clearing a construction site off rocks and debris. And what’s more- the buckets are designed in a way so that it is compatible with all equipment. This is that one tool which is quite versatile as far as its uses are concerned and which is capable of handling extreme conditions.

Now, this entire clearing process that the Skelton bucket performs can be well achieved with the help of backhoes and hoist buckets. So, one might wonder the reason behind the requirement of the Skelton buckets. Well, it is pretty clear. The former equipment do clear off a land effectively, but they also leave large gaps on the ground. With the Skelton bucket, one can be assured of no such thing happening.

Where Can You Make Use Of Skelton Bucket?

That the Skelton bucket is quite a versatile tool is a fact that has been mentioned earlier. There are a number of ways in which one could make use of this tool.

  • The Skelton buckets can be put to use in the construction arena in order to remove rocks and debris. They are also quite useful foe pulling off the remains of a tree root.
  • The Skelton bucket also proves to be quite useful in the cities with respect to the post demolition work where workers need to clear off the rubble.
  • Since, it proves helpful in uprooting tree roots farmers often make use of the Skelton bucket in order to clear a land off scrubs, bushes and the like.
  • Because of their open rib cage like structure, they are also put to use in the scrap metal procedures, as it helps filtering out small metallic pieces.

One could, therefore, easily conclude that the Skelton buckets to be quite an indispensible tool- both in the construction industry and otherwise. Not only does it prove to be helpful in clearing off a land of debris but also ensures that large uneven gaps are not left in the process

Different Heavy Equipment Software can help the construction process

In maintaining the heavy construction equipment, the software solutions are the best ways. There are many software solutions that can cater to all the difficulties related to fueling, controlling, servicing a many other factors of the heavy construction equipment. Among the many software solutions, the most popular ones are the:

  • Dexter + Chaney equipment management solution:

What the heavy construction equipment needs in order to manage the equipment through software solutions are preventive maintenance, a tracking system for the equipment that can also be operated through a mobile application. This is a cloud based software program namely the Spectrum Construction Software that can work seamlessly without the installation of separate software or hardware devices. This software can be operated through the Apple iPhones or the Android mobile phones. The Spectrum Construction Software offers the field workers the opportunity to provide information from the site, automatically synchronizing with the mobile system.

  • Trimble VisionLink 2.4 construction software

This software program integrates various features including the fleet and the asset management, the productivity of the equipment, the amount of materials used at the site and many more. All of these tasks are performed by the 2D Project Monitoring system. This system lets the managers or staff at the construction site to monitor the time cycle, the load counts and also calculate the distance of the hauls. Not only these calculations, but the cumulative volumes of work also can be analyzed through this software program. Even at the time of the movement operations for materials at the work site, the movement or the positional change of the equipment is recorded by this software. Apart from these, the other things that need to be mentioned as the features of this software are the ability to record the distance and the location of the equipment, the timing of its performance and the timing of dumping etc. This software is very helpful in maintain the record of the real progress by the equipment at the work site.

  • PlanSwift Construction Estimation and Takeoff Software

The flexible and the user-friendly digitizing process that is present on a screen is the unique selling proposition of this heavy construction equipment software. By simply clicking on the digitized screen, the owners and the operators of the vehicle or the equipment can calculate the labor charges and the cost of the materials all at a single click. In almost every industry including the residential and the commercial, this software and the blueprint utilizing technique can solve many difficulties in every problem. Even the cost of this software is quite less than the other software of the similar sort. It is simple to operate, affordable in terms of cost and almost anyone can handle this software. Even the staffs can also run this software.

There is quite a number of software of the similar sort. If you want to enjoy the benefits of one of these software, then you will have to simply buy one and install it to your system.

Rent Grader for Road Construction

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Is your construction company in the list of budding firms? Are you worried about the expensive heavy construction equipment? There is no need to lose sleep because here you will get to know that currently many of the rental companies are propounding the service of leasing heavy equipment to the construction, mining, agricultural and other monopolies. It is evident that buying heavy equipment is feasible only for a leading construction company because of its high cost. Therefore the rental companies are giving prospect to the burgeoning companies to raise their positions in the market by proffering the heavy equipment on charter basis.
Road Grader Structure
A road grader is also acknowledged as a blade, a maintainer or a motor grader. It is a breed of architectural machine that is seen with a long blade. This blade is utilised to construct a flat facade during the grading course of action. In the archetypal miniature of road grader, three axles with the engine and cab are attached to it. These engine and cab are fitted above the rear axles at one end of the vehicle. And at the front end of the grader, the third axle is equipped with the blade in between. In countries like Finland, the rental companies supply the motor grader equipped with the second blade. This blade is affixed in the frontage axle of the road grader. Some of the construction workers label this machine as the blade. The capacity range of this blade varies from 2.50 to 7.30m. The engine of the road grader machine has the competence of 93 to 373kw.
Regional Use of Motor Grader
In the northern part of Europe, United States and in Canada, the motor graders are frequently used in removing the snow from the residential areas by the municipal bodies. In the countryside and scrubland areas of Africa and Australia, these graders are repeatedly employed in agricultural purposes. In these grasslands, motor grader acts as bulldozer to dirt the tracks in farms and ranches. These are also applied in plantation applications.
Utilization of Road Grader
In the earlier days, road graders were usually haggard by the animals and the human beings. Subsequently, the discovery of the motor engines brought motor trucks, steam tractors in a huge popularity and people started using it abruptly. The first self-driven grader was created by Russell Grader Manufacturing Company in the year 1920. Nowadays, the contemporary road graders are used in different industries to accomplish the task as soon as possible. Some of its functions are as follows:
• In civil engineering diligences, motor graders are used to filter the rough grading particles and finish their grading factor completely. These rough grading particles generally come out from scrappers and bulldozers.
• Graders are frequently used in preserving and erecting the dirt and the rock-strewn roads.
• During the building of paved roads, graders are used to set up the pedestal path where the asphalt is to be sited on.
Therefore, we can conclude here by saying that renting the road graders gives benefits to the construction organisations by saving their money by preventing the purchase. They assist the companies to invest their money in other requirements rather on these pricey equipments. It helps the businessmen to keep their trade in liquid.

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    Know the main Advantages of EOBRs

    If you are willing to start a construction company that bring success into your life then you always should be very careful on choosing the right path. There are a number of starts up companies who are dealing with this field. It is not an easy job to run a construction business. You need to take care of many things. Organizing the site, managing workers and track down the every single detail of your site is very important. You should know how to operate the heavy equipment. It is obvious that you need to work with the heavy equipment, so it is very essential to purchase the best heavy equipment. Now, many companies are taking the help of electronic onboard recorders (EOBRs) to maintain the safety and security. It is really difficult to use the electronic logs as the drivers and other workers know to work with paper logs. They cannot manage to work with this technology. Many workers feel that this technology is really different and need proper attention. Once you start to use this technology you will surely love it. It actually helps the drivers to save their time and makes the work easier. Here are some important reasons for why drivers love to use EOBR. Take a look-

    It helps you to reduce your paper work as well as reporting time. With the help of this system, the drivers do not have to waste their valuable time by finishing the paper forms and counting the working hours. This fleet tracking system helps to gather the diagnostic information from the engine and help the workers in their job. Through this way of working, workers can smoothly record the each data of their Hours of service. You can completely rely on EOBR because it provides 100% error free and perfect data. So if you want the details of such data or information then you will easily get that from this device.

    Most of the workers and businessmen want to stay compliant to their job. This is their biggest concern of a job that helps them to build the business properly. If you cannot meet the compliance then you may have to give penalties or fines which can ruin the image or reputation of your business. If something is going wrong in the site then this automated alarm makes you aware of it. Fleet managers also use this technology to get rid of their problems. It helps them to track a record on the drivers and workers of that site.

    Through this EOBR system a person can easily be connected with his office. It is not safe to talk or share confidential things over phone.  So, you can use this system in your office to get detail information when you are not in office.

    These are the very few things that you can get from this technology. So, you should definitely use it.

    Get the detail information on the current state of U.S. Construction Industry Index

    Many big economists observed that the economic indicators were not good at the end of the 2012. So, it definitely not promises a good strong growth for 2013. Therefore, it was really important to take a step so that you can overcome such phases and get back the solid economic growth in the next following years. As U.S government has taken strong steps against it so in the recent time, economy has been improved and the industry of construction is rapidly growing. Though it was really slow during the time of recession in 2009, but still the reputed economists predict that it will definitely improve in 2014.

    When you are discussing on the economic growth of a country then it is really important to know the GDP that is the gross domestic product. It is the main function that helps to measure the economic growth of a country. The GDP growth of U.S construction industry was 2.8 percent in 2012 which becomes 2.2 percent during the mid-2013. As per the forecasts reports to be believed that the GDP will be below the margin level in 2013. But the result of the third quarter became strong as 3.6 percent. Therefore, in the 2014 the GDP will reach 3 percent and it will definitely help the construction industry to increase and improve their business.

    People who are engaged with this business should carefully follow the QE bond, as there can be some important changes. Stock market, inflation and interest rates can face some negative results. However, there are many positive sides as well such as state tax revenues are really increasing. Thereby, it can be a very good situation for the construction businessman.

    GDP growth of different states for 2012 was good except Connecticut (-0.1%). The recovery is really strong in some of the states. The energy sector is a remarkable contributor with North Dakota (13.4%), California (3.5%) and Texas (4.8%) as the best performing states. Four states that share minimum growth of 0.2 percent are Delaware, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wyoming.

    Many big construction companies are looking forward to the huge growth in this year. The McGraw Hill Construction Company which is a part of the McGraw Hill companies has released their business plan for this year. The report gives a clear image of the hike that is going to start in this year in the construction industry.  So this is the best time to establish your business.

    If you are planning to progress your business in the construction industry then it is the high time. You will get many opportunities to increase your business areas. You should take care of your business and take the advantages of recent times so that you can establish what you want to in the near future.