Grab for micro digger?

[LeeGray]

Love that idea, there’s some other good clips of similar stuff being used, would a mini digger stand up to use as an occasional loader? Are the track motors up to it or would it end costing you a fortune in premature wear? If not then it looks like a great solution. Not sure what the geometry calcs are but surely my 3 ton which struggles with 500kg on the end of the dipper would lift a ton with dipper off and forks in its place and probably do anything my Schaffer loader does easier and in a more stable manner.

Edited October 26, 2019 by LeeGray

[LGP Eddie]

1 hour ago, LeeGray said:

Love that idea, there’s some other good clips of similar stuff being used, would a mini digger stand up to use as an occasional loader? Are the track motors up to it or would it end costing you a fortune in premature wear? If not then it looks like a great solution. Not sure what the geometry calcs are but surely my 3 ton which struggles with 500kg on the end of the dipper would lift a ton with dipper off and forks in its place and probably do anything my Schaffer loader does easier and in a more stable manner.

Fully powered rotating grab or forks is easily possible with a reasonable lifting height.

 
As for Travel Motors, cut the oil change intervals in half and weigh up the likelihood of one going with how much labour this may save?

 

This with a latest CAT mini that offers tracking via the Joysticks would be a very interesting prospect?

 

I have to say I think a short live heel and rotating grab would be awesome on it.

 

Eddie.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2019 by LGP Eddie

[Matthew Storrs]

1 hour ago, LeeGray said:

Love that idea, there’s some other good clips of similar stuff being used, would a mini digger stand up to use as an occasional loader? Are the track motors up to it or would it end costing you a fortune in premature wear? If not then it looks like a great solution. Not sure what the geometry calcs are but surely my 3 ton which struggles with 500kg on the end of the dipper would lift a ton with dipper off and forks in its place and probably do anything my Schaffer loader does easier and in a more stable manner.

Personally I think the track motors would take it ok. I mean there’s little difference then say pushing dirt around with the blade... my digger has been tracking 8km on a job last week- doubt that does them much good either...

it does look like a great idea- particularly if play is minimal in the coupling once it’s hitched back to the arm.... 

[LGP Eddie]

By live heel I mean a setup like this.

 

 

It would enable longer lengths to be trapped against the heel and moved through narrower gaps in control or even threaded into the back of trucks.

 

The base also allowing you to ease the tracks up a bit for turning or dragging/lifting yourself around.

 

The fact that the Bucket Ram service is made available to Rotate the Grab and use the two way Auxiliary which most older machines will have to Open/Close the Grab makes it a very realistic cost effective prospect.

 

Have to say the old Takeuchi TB016 with its expanding tracks, great power for it’s weight would have some serious potential as a cheap mini Loader/Skidder ?

One track in, one track out working on plastic bog mats always facing direction of travel would be possible?
 

Eddie 

[doobin]

The boom to dipper ram/pivot point is designed primarily to bring the boom back in or rather down below the machine. So with that adaptor being used, the geometry is shit. No other word for it. It forces you to have the boom right up high just to achieve an acceptable crowd angle.

 

This could probably be sorted with better adaptor with multiple pin holes, however this would make it more of a manual changeover.

[LGP Eddie]

I wouldn’t bother with the forks route, I’d be down the rotating grapple/live heel and the fact you could get a small machine to carry and power one of the smaller 3 point linkage winch setups quite nicely.

 

 

 

Eddie.

[aspenarb]

I made up a grab/tilt for a 3 tonner, it worked really well along side a cutter. I was grabbing/steadying trees at about four feet high and pulling them off a step cut. Stumps were nice and low and the trees had less advantage over the machine when laying them down. Made very good progress with it, will try and find a piccy of it.

 

Bob

[doobin]

Thanks Bob but I have a Tigergrip that will do that with or without a rotator on my 3 tonner. Just wanted something strong but light for a micro. Turns out it's a bit much to ask of the laws of physics i think, will manage with the TigerGrip for this one job and then back to using the grapple which is light and keeps the weight under the jib.

[doobin]

It's going well. This little E10 just wants to work, it's a great machine. Makes cutting the bamboo so much easier- clamp it into a sort of 'trunk' that you can actually attack properly, without it falling everywhere. A little upward tension, a cut both sides and as you cut the last stem, up she rises! Then lay it down, add a second bundle, grab it in the middle, cut it in half, stack them together and off you go

 

 

[doobin]

The roots are making the Hyundai work!