Buckets and quick couplers for excavators

Buckets installed on excavators, backhoe loaders, and cranes can be used in many sectors, such as public works, waste disposal, agriculture and, of course, construction works. However, there’s no bucket that can be used for all these sectors. Therefore, you need to make a choice. But how?

There’s a bucket for every application

Buckets can be divided into two macro-categories: digging buckets and levelling buckets, which can be of different types, depending on the operation to carry out and texture of the soil.   

Digging buckets

Digging buckets can be divided into the following types:

• Standard Buckets
  Generally used for digging and moving medium soil.
  
  
• Heavy-duty Buckets
  Which are reinforced in their points most subject to wear and are used for loading materials in the presence of moderately abrasive soils.
  
  
• Rock Buckets
  Used in the presence of extremely compact, abrasive and rocky soil. Usually, they are fully made of wear-resistant materials.
  
  
• Skeleton Buckets
  Used for selecting and sorting materials. The inner width of the skeleton depends on the size of the material to be selected.
  
  
• Trapezoidal Buckets
  Ideal for constructing and maintaining ditches and drains. Medium soil.

Levelling buckets

These buckets are divided into two categories:

• Ditch-cleaning Buckets
  used for cleaning and maintaining ditches and slopes, levelling and finishing roads and squares. Medium soil.
  
  
• Tilting Buckets
  used for reclaiming, cleaning and levelling slopes. It allows a 45-degree inclination on each side. Medium soil.

Size is another crucial element to take into consideration

The bucket’s size can influence its performance. The following three factors need to be considered to determine the bucket’s size.

• The excavator’s specifications: for example, a bucket suitable for a 30 t excavator cannot be used on a 15 t excavator and vice-versa. The machine’s specifications, such as weight, breakout force, arm kinematics, outreach, and application. 
  
  

• Material density: large buckets don’t always ensure increased productivity.Some particularly dense materials can weigh down the large bucket, thus extending the work cycle. On the other hand, for particularly compact materials (such as hard clay), using a smaller bucket than the one used for denser materials, such as the aboveground, is recommended.
  
  

• The truck’s size and capacity: the bucket’s size and productivity should be in line with the truck’s capacity. This way, the loading operation can be carried out in fewer steps, thus saving time.Moreover, using a suitable bucket means consuming less fuel and reducing machine wear.

The advantages of using quick couplers for mounting and substituting buckets

The quick coupler goes between the excavator and the bucket, making it easier to replace the equipment. Thanks to this tool,installing and removing the bucket on and from the excavator’s arm is faster, increasing work efficiency.

Quick couplers can be universal or dedicated. In both cases, they are available in two versions mechanical or hydraulic.

Whether mechanical or hydraulic, universal quick couplers are hooked to pins secured to the drilled plates (known as “ears”) on the upper part of the bucket. The mechanical attachment differs from the hydraulic one because the former does not allow you to install and remove the equipment without leaving the vehicle. The operator must remove it manually using a lever that acts on a spring (or a screw, in the event of heavy-duty vehicles), which releases the pins. On the other hand, the hydraulic attachment allows the operator to remove the equipment automatically from the excavator’s cabin.

Even dedicated quick couplers can be hydraulic or mechanical. Unlike universal quick couplers, the dedicated ones are not hooked to the pins on the bucket’s ears but to plates generally welded to the upper part of the bucket.

The ITR dedicated mechanical quick coupler

The ITR dedicated mechanical quick coupler is a simple and compact attachment made of anti-wear and mechanically resistant steel. It progressively recovers the clearance between the plate and the lower part of the attachment caused by wear, without reducing the digging force.

This type of quick coupler ensures quick and safe bucket installation. This system works with a shaped plate (or to be shaped) mounted on the bucket, which features a superstructure with a suitable coupling system for each excavator.

Kit sagomato

Kit da sagomare

This superstructure is hooked to the bucket through a pin and a wedge, which is housed in a way that prevents the bucket from coming off.

A quick coupler consists of the following components:

A- Sella attacco

B- Piastra con tubi porta-molla

C- Molle

D- Cuneo

F- Vite con testa a brugola

G- Cursore di sgancio

H- Dado

I- Perno di sicurezza (da bloccare con copiglie).

Istruzioni di montaggio e smontaggio dell’attacco rapido ITR

Il montaggio e lo smontaggio devono avvenire sempre con l’attrezzatura appoggiata stabilmente al suolo e a macchina operatrice ferma. Gli attacchi macchina forniti sono equivalenti a quelli utilizzati per le benne standard della macchina su cui montare l’attrezzatura.

Una volta montato l’attacco rapido al braccio, mediante l’utilizzo dei perni in dotazione alla macchina operatrice, si provveda ad agganciare la sella attacco al perno situato sulla benna (fig. A).

Successivamente si vada a fissare infilando il cuneo nella fessura della piastra del kit piastra benna (il cuneo deve andare ad infilarsi automaticamente, fig. B). Nel caso questo non avvenga controllare eventuali tracce di sporcizia nella sede di aggancio o nelle guide cuneo.

Attivare i sistemi di sicurezza, inserendo l’apposito perno, che deve essere bloccato per mezzo di copiglie in dotazione (fig. C).

Per effettuare lo smontaggio sfilare il perno di sicurezza e disinserire il cuneo agendo sulla piastra di sgancio utilizzando la leva data in dotazione (fig. D).

Manutenzione e operazioni vietate nell’uso dell’attacco rapido ITR

Questo tipo di attacco non richiede una manutenzione particolare, è sufficiente tenere ingrassate le guide del cuneo e, giornalmente, controllare lo stato dell’attacco rapido facendo particolare attenzione ad eventuali cedimenti, deformazioni e cricche nelle saldature.

Cosa non fare:

1. È severamente vietato utilizzare l’attacco rapido senza che sia stato efficacemente bloccato e assicurato, anche solo per movimenti temporanei.
2. È vietato eseguire qualsiasi operazione di montaggio e smontaggio con la macchina in funzione.
3. È severamente vietato utilizzare l’attacco rapido per assestare o spostare materiale oppure posarlo al suolo per assestare la macchina.
4. È vietato eseguire qualsiasi operazione che pregiudichi la sicurezza dell’operatore o la sicurezza di persone o cose nelle immediate vicinanze.

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