Archive for the ‘construction equipment’ Category
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 |
Investment in plant and machinery more often than not represents a huge proportion of outlay undertaken by most farmers and contractors. Any possibilities of cutting plant and machinery costs are of course met with delight.
There are three primary reasons why cost savings are so valued. The first simply being that cost savings have a beneficial effect on the bottom line which is good news for any purchaser. The second is that any savings can be reallocated to the purchase of additional equipment and potentially improve efficiency. The third is that higher quality, more effective and efficient used heavy machinery for sale can now be brought in for no additional overall expenditure.
Traditionally, used machinery has largely been bought and sold through local auctions and sales. There are a great variety of Aggregate Equipment, AirCompressor, Asphalt/Paving/Concrete Equip, Compaction Equipment, Excavator Crawler, Dozer, Drill,Excavator, Forklift, Forestry Equipment. New machinery and used machinery is sometimes surplus to requirements, sometimes available through insolvency. Farming and construction publications also display advertisements for new and used machinery.
In recent years a vast new market in used machinery has evolved driven by the Internet, including numerous industry related sites offering huge data bases of equipment much of it with detailed specifications and images and sophisticated search options to help you find the specific machine to suit your needs. Products from a range of well known manufactures such as Bobcat, Case IH, Caterpillar, Claas, Fiat-Hitachi, Fendt, Ford, Hitachi, Ingersoll Rand, JCB, John Deere, Komatsu machinery, Leibherr, Link-Belt, Massey Ferguson, Steyr, Valtra, and Volvo are all readily available.
Not only has purchasing of used farming machinery and plant machinery never been easier, it’s also never been better value for money. Online competition is hot and so are many prices. From tractors, sprayers, spreaders, tippers and trailers to irrigation equipment, pumps, mowers and harvesters it’s all out there and it’s often excellent value.
The usual advantages of buying online can all be seen to apply to machinery:
1. Price: items are usually cheaper on the Web because of online competition. Storage, staff costs and overheads in general tend to be lower.
2. Convenience: purchasing can be much easier on the Internet. It can be done at home, at a convenient time and be very quick.
3. Breadth of choice: Internet shopping allows you access to a wide range of suppliers all around the world. Online suppliers can also carry a much larger stock by aggregating products from a range of smaller suppliers or acting as a dealer portal.
4. Quick delivery: most Internet sites are able to deliver within a few days.
Of course there are sensible precautions that it would be wise to take before investing hard earned money in used machinery. You’ll ideally want to personally inspect and test any equipment and take delivery of logbooks, certificates and warranties. You may even wish to have a certified third party inspect the equipment. You may have to pay a little extra to get hold of it but clean, good conditioned low use kit will likely save you time and money in the long run.
If it’s great value farm machinery you’re looking for have a look online today - you may well find yourself a bargain!
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Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 |
Construction equipment is much like any other equipment in one sense; if you take care of it, it performs better than if it is abused. However, construction equipment typically tends to be used harder than similar equipment would be used if not on a construction site.
Another generality which can be made regarding construction equipment is its size. When we think of construction, we think of the giant earth moving machines, the oversize cranes, the trucks which haul materials and supplies to and from the construction location.
Construction equipment tends to be specialized for one purpose only. Although dump trucks collect and transport dirt and rocks, there is a great deal of difference between hauling a huge load of boulders to be used as road bed base for a interstate highway and hauling a load of paving stones from the local Home Depot outlet to the patio behind one’s home.
Important features to consider when viewing the subject of construction equipment repairs are the cost, accessibility, speed and useful life of the equipment.
The cost of the repair can vary based on who is doing the repair. Some companies find it more cost effective to hire and train their own mechanics to deal with construction equipment repairs and maintenance. Others will pay the cost of a factory trained mechanic or a qualified service provider.
Depending on where the construction equipment is sited, getting the equipment to the repair facility, or bringing repair personnel to the equipment can be a major undertaking.
The length of time required to complete the repair can be a crucial factor when down time on a job can have a snowball effect on the capability of completing an entire project on time and on budget. Sometimes even minutes of downtime because of needed construction equipment repairs can jeopardize the financial success of the project.
One final factor which is important to consider regarding repairs of construction equipment is the useful life of the equipment. Ordinarily, from an accounting standpoint, equipment is depreciated over some period of time and then discarded, either through sales or junking of the item. Putting repair money into equipment which has already reached the end of its useful life may not be cost effective.
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Monday, October 27th, 2008 |
When purchasing a forklift, it might cause difficulties unless you are knowledgeable about it. You might end up with a forklift having characteristics that you don’t need or might not get acclimatised to or you could unnecessarily overspend. Customer Forklift Sales will give you all the guidance about buy forklift for sales in Queensland and the type most suitable to your needs, as they are professional forklifts supplier.
Custom Forklift Sales can give you information not only about the product design, characteristics, and prices of various products but also about spare parts, as they are also a forklifts equipment supplier. You can contact them for whatever information you need and they will happily cater to all your requirements. As forklifts supplier, they have products ranging from Toyota, Nissan, Hyster, Komatsu and many others.
Aspects That You Need To Be Conversant When Choosing New Or Used Forklift For Sale:
” Capacity/size of the truck - The maximum weight that must be transported/carried. You must be completely sure about the weight as otherwise it might be impossible to lift the required weight, thereby wasting your money and time. ” Fork length - The fork length needed for your product is dependent on the dimensions and height of the product. The standard fork lengths for the standard truck are usually 72, 60, 48 and 42 inches. ” Height to lift - Be aware of the restrictions of width and height. Moreover, you must be able to judge the height to which the forklift needs to be raised to move your products, the height and width of the doorways, overhead obstructions and aisle measurements. ” Power - Make sure that there is no limitation in your facility. ” Tires - Select the appropriate tire that goes well with your terrain. For indoors applications, cushion tires that are comparatively small can be recommended. These manoeuvrable and compact tires are made up of hard rubber compound. On the other hand, for outdoors applications the larger pneumatic tires with intense traction grooves are used, enabling travel over rough and wet terrain.
After you get an idea from them on what type of forklift to purchase or hire you can make the decision about what type is suitable for you and you will not regret your decision. If you find that new forklifts are above your budget, you can buy a used forklift for sale or hire forklifts from them. Being a forklifts equipment supplier, Customer Forklift Sales can help you to estimate the hourly operating costs, fuel cost and the extra supplies needed. These heavy construction equipments must be properly and promptly maintained to keep them in good shape. They will see to repairs and maintenance of forklifts, thereby relieving you of such worries. Use forklifts safely.
Safety Tips:
” The stabilizer feet placed on the ground, when a heavy load must be picked up. ” Fasten the seatbelt. ” To carry a weighty load down to the bottom of a hill or else a slope take care to do it in reverse. ” When reversing, beep to warn others. ” Try to make sure that the zones are pedestrian free to increase the safety.
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Thursday, October 9th, 2008 |
The following are the steps to order different heavy equipment parts and supplies :
1. There are many different types of heavy construction equipment for sale, and many different manufacturers, but most, if not all, are provided with a basic service manual or owner’s manual, and often this is the best place to start.
2. It is very necessary to identify the construction equipment manufacturer, the model year, and the model number. Having the serial number can often be critical to assuring you get the correct part the first time. Usually the manufacturer’s name is on the machine, as well as the model name, example: Case (manufacturer) 580K (model) Backhoe (type of equipment). The serial number is usually on a data plate affixed to the frame or on the cab. Armed with this minimum of information, you should be able to locate a equipment dealer or find an online after market source for a service manual with a parts identification guide and break down. These type manuals contain a great deal of technical information, and usually cost between 50 and 100 dollars, but to identify the exact part it should be considered money well spent.
3. When you identify the part name, and hopefully model number, a search of the phone book yellow pages, or an internet search engine should connect you with a supplier. The manufacturer dealer outlets offer the most complete line of parts, but usually they are more expensive than “after market” replacement parts which often meet or exceed OEM (original equipment manufacturer) specifications.
4. If you choose to deal with an internet supplier or catalog type sales business, always take shipping into consideration. A bulldozer muffler, hub assembly, or even battery can weigh over one hundred pounds, so shipping can actually run the price up and make local dealer parts a better bargain.
5. Check out all the sources available for good deals and offers. Scheduled service parts such as lubricants, filters, and other parts may be offered at discounts in quantity, and shipping costs are often waived on large enough orders.
6. Do sufficient record keeping. Be aware of all the equipments you buy. If a particular bearing or belt wears out and has to be replaced, write down the part number, price, and installation date, in the event it breaks again, and particularly during the warranty period.
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Friday, September 26th, 2008 |
Every industry has its accepted truths. These are the things that everybody knows - the obvious answers. The problem is that yesterday’s truths may be out of date, and things that appear to be common sense on the surface may be a lot more complicated when you look a little deeper. When the question is a potentially expensive one like the purchase and maintenance of your forklift fleet, it’s a good idea to examine both possibilities.
Most operations that run a large fleet of forklifts select a primary new truck manufacturer (for example, Toyota or Hyster for pneumatic/cushion trucks, Crown or Raymond for electrics). It’s more convenient, dealing with a single company when arranging purchase or lease agreements, but that is not the primary consideration.
Full service leases are supposed to cover maintenance costs up front. Ideally, they allow you to plan maintenance schedules and costs, and then forget about it for the duration of the lease. There are two problems with this pretty picture. For one thing, most full service leases do not cover repair costs on the failure of components that are out of factory warranty, or on the failure of wear items such as brakes, etc.
Not all forklift manufacturers like Caterpillar, Hyster, Ford etc are good at everything that a forklift does in your operation. There are just too many variables. Electrics are quiet, inexpensive and nonpolluting, but of limited range. In some narrow aisle warehouse applications, turning radius can become a major consideration. In extreme cases, turret trucks may be required.
To get the most efficient vehicle for every job, you would have to determine the features and characteristics required for that job, and then buy the necessary number of trucks from the manufacturer who makes the best forklift with those features and characteristics - and then repeat the process for every job in your operation. A multi-location facility could easily end up with four or five different makes of lift truck. Remember, you are still only using one brand of fork lift for a given task, and because you have selected the brand with the best performance for that function, your maintenance for that brand is likely to go down.
Keeping a larger inventory of parts may cost a little more to begin with, but maintaining that inventory over time should result in no significant additional expense. As for training, it may be possible to specialize there as well.
Another accepted truth that may no longer be true is that refurbished forklift trucks, while less expensive than new ones, are less reliable and therefore not a good investment.
With the ever-increasing costs of capital equipment, refurbishing used lift trucks has finally become big business. Only a few years ago, the market for reconditioned forklifts wasn’t big enough to justify the expense of setting up an assembly line to tear down, inspect and re-assemble a vehicle with enough quality control to insure reliable operation in heavy use conditions.
The term refurbished means different things to different people. Before you even consider this option, make certain that the unit has been disassembled to the bare frame, sandblasted, painted and rebuilt. Even the engines should be completely broken down, refurbished and repainted to work and look like new. Purchasing used forklifts can be risky, but buying quality refurbished ones doesn’t have to be.
Renewed vehicles have had some run time, a kind of shakedown cruise after which the weak components are replaced. The result is a more reliable unit. Obviously, a refurbished truck has less of its reliable service life left than a new one, but consider the following scenario. You purchase a refurbished unit at one third the cost of a new one. You have already skipped the first wave of high maintenance cost that occurs during the run-in phase. You maintain it regularly and retire it perhaps a year earlier than you would a new unit, thus avoiding the last stage of high maintenance as it nears the end of its useful life. You have saved considerably in terms of capital investment, and your maintenance costs may actually go down as well.
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Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 |
Nowadays there is a great demand for qualified heavy equipment operators because of boom in the infrastructure, construction and the mining industries. Most of the new and used heavy equipments are used in the industries mentioned above and there is an acute shortage of qualified heavy equipment operators the world over and the demand for the heavy equipment operators has outstripped the supply. Therefore, a number of training schools have come up to cater to the growing demand for heavy equipment operators. The heavy equipment operator training schools are run by people who have been in the industry for many decades and who are competent enough to teach you all about the heavy equipment operations. Basically the Heavy Equipment operator training program is designed keeping your utmost safety in mind and they re divided in two phases. One phase is known as the home study phase and the other resident training phase.
The home study phase is very useful even for people who urrently hold a job and the material provided by the school can be used as a reference guide. You can enhance your skills by sitting in your home, thereby reducing the classroom attendance by more than 50% and when you go onto the practical training part, you can totally concentrate on the critical aspects of the equipment operations rather than starting from the basics of machine operations.
These courses are lucid, easy to read and to the point. These courses are accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, Washington, D.C. The nature of work of a heavy equipment operator employed in the construction and maintenance of various work sites by the construction companies, contractors, public works departments and lots of logging companies vary from industry to industry, but the only thing common between all the operators is that they operate the equipment by moving levers, pedals, and switches. The Heavy equipment operator trainees have a variety of jobs to choose from after the completion of the course, a list of which is given below:
Apprentice asphalt plant operator, backhoe operator, bulldozer operator, dredging, equipment operator, excavator operator, grader operator, heavy equipment operator, loader operator, aving equipment operator, side boom tractor operator, road oiling truck driver, shovel operator, sewer flushing truck operator, snow-removal equipment operator, apprentice pile driver and a bridge worker. The working conditions are not so ood, you have to learn to work in mud, dirt and noisy environments, almost around the year, but there are a few lucky ones who operate in air-conditioned and dust free environments, but then you are compensated by a handsome pay which is at least 0% above the average provincial salary. The heavy equipment operators are mostly employed by the construction companies which accounts for nearly 52% of operators employed and the rest is contributed by the mining, gas, agriculture, fishing, logging and the manufacturing industries.
One can progress to a supervisory or a managerial position in due course of time with experience and skill of using heavy equipments like backhoes, bulldozer, cranes, skid loader, excavators etc.
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 |
A crawler loader is useful for moving up all kinds of materials. You should look into crawler loader machines if you need to move huge piles of dirt or other materials from one to another. Crawler loader tractors are highly useful – and often comfortable.
Crawler loader machines are large, mobile machines that can move loose or solid materials from one place to another and pile or load them. Crawler loader machines deal especially well with moving heavy loads around. Essentially, these heavy equipments lift and move stuff from here to there. Crawler loader machines usually have tracks instead of wheels. They offer you great power and poise on difficult terrain with their excellent traction and comfortable seating. The undercarriage is tracked rather than wheeled, giving you better traction on mud and sand. No tires means that you will get no flat tires! Also, the soil will be disturbed less; the site will not need extra recovery work after your job is done.
If you need prodigious digging and moving capabilities, crawler loader machines are a great solution. Many crawler loader machines can carry over a ton of material, which is much more than what regular backhoes can handle.
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Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 |
Wheel loaders are a type of heavy machinery that is used in construction, as well as for many other non construction tasks. Wheel loaders, as opposed to track loaders, have sturdy tires equipped with large, rugged tread that allows for optimum maneuverability. Mini, small, large and super wheel loaders; skid steers; front loaders and backhoe loaders are the most common types of wheel loaders.
Wheel loaders are a variation on tractors that are designed for more laborious work. The biggest difference between wheel loaders and tractors can be seen in their steering systems. Most wheel loaders’ steering systems use a hydraulically actuated pivot point, which allows the front and rear axle of the wheel loaders to bear more weight than automotive steering systems.
Wheel loaders have a square bucket, called the loader, which is maneuvered by flexible arms. The loader is either a permanent fixture or an attachment secured to either the front or back of the machine. Some wheel loaders, such as a backhoe loader, have a bucket in the front and a backhoe in the rear. This kind of machine is able to dig with the backhoe and remove the unearthed material with the loader.
Wheel loaders have the ability to perform four general tasks; scooping, digging, dumping and carrying. They are commonly used for carrying construction materials like bricks, pipes and rock. Wheel loaders are also efficient for snow removal in commercial areas. Farms also employ various types of wheel loaders for many reasons, including scooping and transporting hay and excavating the land. Mini wheel loaders can be used inside buildings.
Wheel loaders have an advantage over track loaders, because wheel loaders are easier on paved roads and other sensitive environments. Track loaders are more suited to tasks that involve digging, because wheel loaders are unable to dig much below the tires without getting stuck. When a task involves transport or shallow excavation, wheel loaders are less destructive and therefore more efficient in the long term.
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Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 |
Caterpillar hit a dial of power and performance with its top of the line 446 backhoe loader when it first introduced the D series version of the machine. The 102 HP machine also features a new operator station and offers optional joystick controls. The dig forces on the bucket have increased 10% on the backhoe.
Bobcat gave its compact backhoe loaders a power boost when the company introduced the second generation B series to the lineup. The 31.5 HP B100 received a 45% increase in backhoe bucket breakout force and a 27% jump in the breakout force of the dipper. The 46 HP B300 received a 44% increase in dipper breakout force and a 21% boost in the breakout force of the bucket. The three model line also includes the B250, which is a 31.5 HP sideshift unit. Similar to the larger B300, the B250 also features all wheel steering and four wheel drive.
Each one of the four models of backhoe loaders in the New Holland lineup use the new 4.5 liter turbocharged Tier 2 engine. This new engine and a number of other upgrades were the basis for the B series machines, which offer low effort pilot controls which will give you a choice between excavator or loader style patterns.
Case added quite a bit to its M series backhoe loaders, by switching to family 3 engines to meet Tier 2 emission standards. The new machines of the M series have quieter, larger displacement engines for better lugging capacity. They also have increased torque rise for faster cycles of loader and backhoe operations.
With 500 hour intervals of oil changes and easy to access transmission mounted hydraulic pumps, the M series is surely a force to be reckoned with in the world of backhoes.
The newest compact backhoe loader from this company can reach digging depths of up to 12 feet with its backhoe. Working as a loader, the BL-580 has an operating capacity of 3,406 pounds with a breakout force of 9,370 pounds. Both the loader and backhoe are equipped with standard auxiliary hydraulics with a two way flow to accommodate a variety of attachments, which includes booms, breakers, augers, and even compactors. Other nifty features include hydrostatic four wheel drive for power and traction, and all wheel steering for a tight radius.
Komatsu announced that the optional excavator style joystick controls would be offered on its five model lineup of backhoes. The lineup has also been upgraded with increased hydraulic speed, stronger components, and Tier 2 engines. The entire Komatsu equipments consists of the 87 HP WB140 series, and teh 94 HP WB150 series.
The standard model found with each series features a four speed mechanical transmission complete with a torque converter. The fifth model from Komatsu is the WB150, with offers an all star wheel design with a powershift transmission and anti theft prevention system.
The 410H is the hallmark of John Deere, offering 92 HP. The 410H also offers the total machine control system, which integrates control for the engine, transmission, hydraulics, and brakes so that the system can respond in an efficient way to the many different job demands.
Since acquiring the Fermec line, Terex has marketed a full and impressive line of backhoes. The models include the 92 HP TX760B and the 100 HP > TX860B. At 100 HP as well are the 860SX, 860 Elite, and the 970 Elite. Both the 760 and 860 models feature four speed shuttle gearboxes and travel speeds of up to 25.8 miles per hour.
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Friday, August 29th, 2008 |
The world’s biggest maker of construction equipments is the Caterpillar Inc. It is based in Illinois. The company deals with diverse product ranges. Benjamin Holt is the inventor of the crawler machines. The list includes Engines, road building machineries and equipments for moving earth soil. They deal with excavators of almost all possible types. This includes dozers, graders, scrapers, crawler loaders, and wheel loaders.
The world’s second largest building equipment maker is the Komatsu Ltd. It has a wide variety of product range and is only behind the Caterpillar. The Japanese company is engaged in selling almost hundred various types of building machineries. These include mobile crushers, telehandler and mini excavator. The company has gained a lot of reputation for the manufacturing of the mini excavators. The Komatsu, which has its headquarters in Tokyo, also deals with products other than the construction equipments. They have become a lot popular in manufacturing robots, compressors, generators and electronic goods. The company manufactures the biggest and the heaviest bulldozer in the world.
Another Japanese company has made it to the top fifty of the leading enterprises in the world. Hitachi Ltd. Corporation manufactures different types of building equipments. However, they manufacture it with the name of Hitachi Construction Machinery. They manufacture wheeled excavators and crawlers of various sizes. Apart from these,Hitachi equipments include wheel loaders and telescopic working platforms.
JCB is considered as the world’s fourth largest maker of construction equipments in the world. Among it is the wheel excavator, crawler excavators and the tele handler. Other than this JCB is engaged in the agricultural field by producing tractors.
Another renowned South Korean Company that makes boating equipments as well as construction machineries is the Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. Their product range includes crawler and wheel excavator, skid steer loader, wheel loader, and Skid steer excavators. The construction equipments manufactured by Hyundai are distributed all across the world.
The Swedish group Volvo apart from manufacturing the Volvo buses is also renowned for its construction equipments. The Volvo Group also manufactures boat engines. The Volvo construction equipments include chain excavator, mobile excavator, excavator loader, and compact wheeled loader.
The mini excavators have become very popular especially in the urban areas. The demand is justified as these machines are lot lighter in weight and carry out almost the operation that a big excavator is supposed to do. In addition they can perform some tasks that even the big excavators are unable to perform. They accommodate themselves very easily within a truck. For the purpose of back filling they have provisions for dozer blade which is in built. Their flexibility and the ability to adjust have made them indispensable.
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