Mid-size excavators are evolving due to control refinements, contractor demand for higher versatility

For years, features – including electrohydraulics and work modes – have trickled down from larger excavators to smaller models. When first introduced, these features and the technology enabling them could be costly. But as the costs dropped, these features were included in lower-priced machines.

Now it seems features are trickling up. Smaller excavators have become prime movers for a wide range of buckets, augers, compaction tools and more. These attachments and the bidirectional hydraulic flow needed to run many of them are becoming more common in larger machines. Specialty buckets for ditching and dredging and buckets with thumbs are being sized to fit these larger machines. The take rate for quick-attach couplings and auxiliary hydraulics is growing as more customers have either an existing or an anticipated need for attachments.

Among attachments, shears and hammers are the most popular as demolition gains prominence in excavators’ applications repertoire. “The majority of our customers asking for machines in these size classes are using them in demolition applications,” says Marcus Barnes, excavator product specialist, Liebherr.

Even customers doing mostly digging expect quick-change versatility, says Kurt Moncini, senior manager for tracked products, Komatsu. “In trenching applications where multiple buckets are used, such as underground utility, the time between bucket changes can be reduced to seconds. Changing buckets quickly to suit the task at hand is important because you don’t want to excavate more than necessary.”

Something else showing up on larger machines is demand for reduced-tailswing design. Once considered helpful only for smaller machines working in tight spaces, reduced tailswing is finding favor in all kinds of urban, bridge and road construction. “Tight” is relative and traffic, adjacent buildings, and other barriers can make the working environment on the largest site seem claustrophobic. “Customers inquire about reduced tailswing on even 50-ton machines,” says Barnes, “so they can bring a large excavator to the job and still close only one lane of traffic.”

All this is in response to customers’ need to do more work with fewer machines, says Moncini. “In infrastructure work, for example, we’re seeing one excavator being used for demolition, load-out and reconstruction.”