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The starting point

Quick couplers are just one example of excavator at tachments leading to an increasingly safe workplace. D&Ri looks at the latest developments.

It is one of the most compelling arguments in demolition.

The idea of not just changing the work tool on an excavator in a matter of seconds, but staying in the cab the whole time.

It is a major contribution safety on the jobsite.

But how did it reach this point? And where does it go from here?

What else is the quick coupler – and other attachments – capable of ?

Karl Serneberg, vice president of OEM sales and marketing at Swedish manufacturer Steelwrist, talks about his company’s experience.

“A job needs a work tool and a work tool needs an excavator – not the other way around. That’s the starting point when we think about how to increase your excavator efficiency.

“What is first and foremost crucial with a quick coupler is that you can change the work tool in a safe manner. With the demand for productivity constantly rising and in many applications the need for quick change of work tool is almost continuous means the importance of quick couplers is just increasing.”

TWO SIDES DRIVING CHANGE

Last year the company showed the largest example of its SQ quick coupler at the Bauma exhibition in Germany, having launched it the previous year.

“In the past few years, we have seen that the requirement to be able to change hydraulic powered work tools without leaving the cab is increasing,” said Karl.

“I would say there are two sides to what is driving changes in the manufacturing process.

“Firstly, customers are increasingly demanding safer coupling solutions and the demand is coming from all over the world. In parallel to this, legislators are raising the bar for what is considered ‘safe’.

“When we launched the Front Pin Lock technology in 2012, we wanted operator and ground personnel to feel safe during work tool changes, as the operator could see when the work tool is in a safe position. Thanks to that, Steelwrist couplers are not sensor dependent and our solutions works equally well with all types of excavators. Today, with thousands of couplers in the field, the result has been a higher safety level and a robust solution cast in steel.

Steelwrist’s largest ever SQ quick coupler, launched in 2021 and exhibited at Bauma in Germany last year.
PHOTO: STEELWRIST
OilQuick’s quick coupler will now be distributed in the United Kingdom by Worsley Plant.
PHOTO: OILQUICK/ WORSLEY PLANT

“Secondly customers want to increase the efficiency and versatility of their investment, and this drives the continuously increased penetration for tiltrotators.”

TILTROTATOR DEMAND

In terms of trends for the future, Karl sees increasing global market penetration for tiltrotators as the other significant factor alongside the growth of quick couplers.

CK Abbruch und Erdbau used a DMW 220 HD cutter wheel mounted on a 45 t excavator.
PHOTO: KEMROC

“Both these solutions are fundamental to drive excavator efficiency.”

B`ritish distributor Worsley Plant has announced that it is now the official United Kingdom dealer for OilQuick, the Swedenbased manufacturer of fully automatic quick coupler systems for industries including demolition and construction.

Worsley, based in Cheshire in the north west of England, already distributes Lehnhoff quick couplers in the UK, as well as other equipment brands including Remu, MB, Rotar, Dynaset and Montabert.

The company already distributes automatic quick couplers from the German manufacturer Lehnhoff and for operations director Adrian Nixon the importance of representing two such brands is considerable.

“We are delighted to have added Oilquick to our range,” said Adrian.

“We already offer the Lehnhoff range of fully automatic quick couplers and will continue to support and sell these throughout the UK.

“However, we appreciated that our customers have a choice, as there are two big players in the quick coupler marketplace. We needed to offer both brands to complement our growing range of hydraulic attachments.

“We predict exciting times ahead for both parties involved in this dealership arrangement and are see this as an extremely positive start to 2023.”

WORLDWIDE SUPPLY

OilQuick has been manufacturing quick couplers for 30 years and has supplied more than 40,000 of its systems worldwide.

The system itself has been developed for excavators from 1 to 120 t, allowing hydraulic work tools to be connected and disconnected from the driver’s cab.

The operator can change between various work tools within a few seconds, such as a hydraulic hammer, pulveriser or shear, sorting grab, hydraulic magnet, compactor, crushing bucket or tilt bucket.

Italian attachment specialist Mazio says its newest innovation for 2023 is its tiltrotator for excavators.

According to Mazio, tiltrotators have seen great interest in Europe, and they are growing in popularity within the USA, where – along with Colombia – it has additional manufacturing capacity to its native country.

These attachments work with excavator tools, such as grapples, buckets, or shears. They not only rotate 360°, but they also tilt side-to-side by up to 55°.

Mazio believes this reduces the need for the operator to move the excavator while performing tasks, in turn increasing productivity and efficiency.

The Mazio tiltrotator features a hydraulic quick coupler that allows the operator to remain in the cab while changing tools.

It enjoys maintenance-free operation, with no grease points and no cylinders, and is described as allowing access to narrow spaces and on urban projects with large or small equipment.

Mazio’s experts work in tandem with its dealers to provide producers and contractors with guidance on ways to increase their productivity and profits, and designs its attachments to work with all makes and sizes of carrier machine, from hydraulic excavators, skid steer loaders, and backhoes to wheeled loaders, telehandlers, and others.

Low noise Kemr oc solution

A German contractor is under taking a low noise, low vibration demolition project in with the help of Kemroc drum cut ter and cut ter wheel at tachments.

CK Abbruch und Erdbau has been removing the foundations of a former industrial complex in Weingar ten in the south of the countr y, by mounting the drum cut ter and cut ter wheel at tachments on hydraulic excavators.

Kemroc said this is both an economic and environmentally friendly way of demolishing the heav y concrete segment s.

The demolition has come about because a new cit y quar ter called Mar tinshöfe is being built in the centre of Weingar ten on a 4 ha (9.9 acre) site.

In the project, CK Abbruch und Erdbau – as well as removing around 40,000 cubic metres (1.4 million cu f t) of concrete and reinforced concrete – is excavating the foundations for future housing and of fices, another 120,000 cubic metres (4.2 million cu f t) of ear th.

Af ter the above- ground buildings were demolished last year, at tention turned to the underground foundations, some of which are 1,500 cubic metres (53,000 cu f t) in size.

In view of this challenge, and the noise and vibration requirements at the inner -cit y site, the demolition contractor decided to use a combined demolition and dismantling process. The machiner y at Weingar ten consisted of two hydraulic excavators equipped with Kemroc at tachments, a 45 t machine with a DMW 220 cut ter wheel and a KR 150 drum cut ter, and a 60 t machine with a DMW 220 HD cut ter wheel and a KR 165 drum cut ter.

“At peak times, we have five excavators with operating weight s of up to 80 t operating on this construction site, as well as a mobile crushing plant and a mobile screen for high-qualit y processing of the resulting concrete residue,” said Markus Christadler, managing director at CK Abbruch und Erdbau.

This article appears in January-February 2023

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