MARKET REPORT COMPACT PLANT
More add-on capability
Nick Johnson reports on two new attachments and a coupler control device designed to make compact excavators safer and more versatile.
Think of pruning a tree and the chances are you will not immediately associate the task with a mini excavator. However, minis can nowadays do much more than simply wield a bucket or a breaker, and trees continue to grow and require regular pruning irrespective of the financial climate that has affected demand in traditional construction markets .
Specialist attachments supplier, Exac-One, has introduced its own range of three UK designed and manufactured tree shears to suit excavators weighing from 1.8 to 14 tonne. The smallest is the TL150 which can be used on 1.8 to 5.8 tonne machines.
The TL150 tree shear in action on a Kubota mini with an extra dipper for greater reach.
Whilst the TL150 tree shear can
be mounted directly onto the dipper arm of a smaller mini, Exac-One recently demonstrated a more impressive combination. In order to provide a maximum vertical reach of 7m, the attachment was mounted onto an extra 1350mm dipper arm connected, by means of a Dead-Lock auto fully hydraulic quick coupler, to the standard 1820mm dipper arm of a 5.8 tonne Kubota KX057-4 mini.
Complete with 360° continuous power rotation, provided by a fully enclosed Kinshofer hydraulic rotator, the TL150 can be easily positioned at height. It can cleanly cut through hardwood branches up to 150mm diameter, or software tree limbs up to 200mm. The maximum jaw opening of the shear is 285mm and its 100mm hydraulic cylinder is designed to provide up to 16 tonne of cutting force at a hydraulic pressure of 200 bar.
It did not take long to master all the extra functions to efficiently operate the KX057-4’s extended front end and the rotating tree shear. Lopping trees with a mini excavator saves personnel having to work aloft and provides both timber cutting and sorting capability with one machine that can access rough terrain.
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The fitment of the Dead-Lock automatic quick coupler meant it was easy to remove the extra dipper and shear and connect a standard digging bucket. And this action revealed another new product from Exac-One: its C-Control switch for hydraulic couplers. Devised by the company’s Andrew Harker and Doug Guest, it has been designed to offer an industry standard switching arrangement for all hydraulic couplers that utilise a solenoid-operated valve. They contend that the great variety of different switching arrangements in common use can lead to operator confusion and, thereby, the risk of a potentially hazardous mistake.
Housed in a durable, tamper-proof box, the solid state C-Control utilises a pre-programmed printed circuit board. The small device has been cleverly designed with two buttons, a central LED status indicator lamp and an audible warning buzzer to allow intuitive, fail-safe sequential operation. Usefully, the C-Control has a self-diagnostic function so, if it becomes faulty, the LED lamp shows a solid red warning and the device cannot be used. Another foolproof safety feature is an automatic return to the last switch position should the power be interrupted during an attachment coupling sequence.
Exac-One is emphatic that, when the C-Control is fitted, an excavator operator simply cannot operate the device’s buttons out of sequence, meaning that the correct coupling and uncoupling procedure has to be followed every time a bucket or attachment is changed. To accomplish this, the operator first presses the on-off button to power up the device. This action will change the LED light from a solid green to a flashing red light and the buzzer sounds an intermittent tone. The next stage is to depress the lock button for one second, after which the LED changes to solid red and there is a continuous warning tone. This indicates that power is now connected to the solenoid on the coupler control valve and the
The C-Control switch box is unobtrusive and easy to use.
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