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Today’s excavators are not just simple digging tools for digging hole, trenches and foundations, they are fast adapting new technologies for increased productivity and efficiency and incorporating new developments for multipurpose functionality and versatility. Modern day excavators are offered with upgraded technological features for safe and cost-efficient project operations. GPS, telematics and sensors are becoming common and the trend now is towards automation and new developments.

Automation for excavators is a growing area of opportunity for the construction industry. Automation clearly takes the guesswork out of the task on the jobsite, allowing operators to focus on other things. Automation also enables jobsites to function without the need for additional surveyors and grade checkers within the working area. This vastly reduces the chances and risk of bystanders being injured during previously routine operations. Automated features are a great tool for newer or less skilled operators. Automation for excavators has been shown to deliver a 30% increase in production and many companies also report significant material savings.

Grade Control Systems

A new technology specific to crawler excavators is the grade control system. Excavator grade control systems that can command the machine's hydraulic valves is spreading throughout the brands to automate functions, reducing demands on operators and making it easier to achieve desired results.

This technology is available in a 2D or 3D configuration. Instead of stopping a machine to measure the trench depth, a grade control system allows a machine to operate at a continuous pace. An excavator with a grade control system can read jobsite data that is mapped out by a drone or a manual survey. This system allows an operator to work quicker and with a better feel of the jobsite and the trench depth.

2D grade control system often utilizes physical landmarks and laser technology, allowing excavator operators to work on a single plane. Operators can ensure consistent slope in a vertical plane. It is suitable for small, personal excavator operations. Compared with the 3D system, its price is relatively low and individuals can afford it.

3D excavator grade control system uses GPS & RTK positioning technology to digitally develop site plans, allowing operators to add variable distances such as curves. GPS excavator control systems are suitable for large, complex projects such as large drainage projects, where productivity, accuracy and excavator downtime are priorities. The advantages of 3D excavator grade control system are that it provides real-time depth, distance, and grade information, and high accuracy positioning.

All-Around Camera Systems and Monitors

One more example of a new machine option in recent years is an all-around-view monitor on excavators. This camera system features a 360-degree field of view, contributing to worksite safety. Cameras are mounted on the front of the excavator cab, on each side of the machine and on the rear. One standout feature of the camera system is an additional alert system, which warns the operator of the presence of people or objects around them. The all-around camera system gives operators an extra sense of security as they go about their work, increasing productivity and working time.

Most manufacturers continue to offer a rear view camera as a standard machine feature. Some companies also offer a side view camera for enhanced visibility to the side of the excavator. These views can be seen side by side on some LCD screens in the cab.

Onboard monitors provide a wealth of information and capability that can increase productivity, reduce fuel consumption and enhance safety on the Jobsite. The monitors often interface with modern electrohydraulic systems to provide semi-autonomous functions and customized capabilities that make novice operators more efficient while reducing fatigue in more experienced operators.

Tiltrotators

Advancements in attachment coupling technology combined with new products mean materials processing can increasingly take place at the end of an excavator arm. Couplers that allow excavator attachments to tilt and/or rotate can dramatically increase jobsite efficiency when used in the right applications. An excavator with a standard coupler or pin-on bucket is only able to work in parallel with the direction of the boom and stick. Adding tilting and 180° rotating functions to the end of the stick increases the mobility of the excavator front structure, enabling the possibility to work in all directions, with different angles. Tiltrotators eliminate the need to constantly reposition the excavator, which increases not only productivity and fuel efficiency, but also safety on the jobsite. 

A tiltrotator is a hydraulic attachment between the arm and bucket of an excavator or backhoe loader. As the name implies, it permits the operator to tilt the bucket side-to-side and rotate on its axis, much like a human wrist. The device provides an excavator with more versatility and lets the operator perform more tasks by simply angling the attachment, without needing to constantly reposition the machine.

Tiltrotators increase diversity by increasing the number of tasks that an excavator can perform well. With a tiltrotator, excavators can be equipped with pallet forks for loading and unloading trucks. Using it in conjunction with a bucket allows digging easily around obstacles without the need for people with shovels to dig close to the obstacle. Grading can be done more easily and at greater angles than with a front-mounted dozer blade. Adding a tiltrotator to the excavator decrease the number of machines needed on a project and labourers working around the excavator.

Electric Excavators

The prevalence of electric powered off-road equipment is increasing due to the many cost and environmental benefits it can provide. Excavators are of particular interest due to the many opportunities for energy recuperation due to boom and bucket movements throughout the daily duty cycle. Electric excavators are designed to encounter the necessities related to earth-moving necessities and likely to grasp significant market share in the coming future.

Large scale construction companies are switching the adoption of heavy duty conventional excavators with electric excavators to procure high profit margins from low fuel consumption, lesser carbon emission, reduced noise emission, superior maneuverability and operational ease. Also, compared to diesel-powered excavators, this machine’s holders can expect low maintenance expenditures and lesser downtime.