18 January 2022

One of the most versatile items of earthmoving equipment with a high degree of efficiency that’s seen them utilised on construction, landscaping and agricultural worksites the world over, mini excavators can be used for an extensive range of digging, lifting and material handling tasks. When fitted with Cat^® attachments like augers, buckets and hydraulic thumbs, the versatility of these machines increases exponentially, enabling them to tackle even more applications and tasks with ease.

Digging

While the digging depth your Cat mini excavator can achieve depends on its size, you can improve its digging accuracy, precision and speed with a variety of attachments. Additionally, fitting your mini excavator with the right attachments can enable you to work across a range of ground conditions and soil types, from loose soil suiting a standard GP bucket through to clay and compact dirt with a ripper and rock with a hammer.

Augers — Used to drill holes in a variety of shapes and sizes and bore through a wide range of soil types, Cat augers are utilised across a range of industries, from digging holes for tree planting on landscaping sites to boring holes for building foundations.

Buckets — Available in a wide range of dimensions and sizes, Cat buckets are available as digging buckets or cleaning buckets. Cat digging buckets (230mm to 700mm) for mini excavators are ideal for digging in soft to moderate ground, feature a back wrapper design that enhances bucket loadability and with their tapered sidewalls, allow material to flow more easily. Cat cleaning buckets (700 to 1800mm) are used for a range of finishing work, including cleaning, dressing, sloping, grading and material loading. These buckets feature an optimum wrapper angle with no sharp corners to promote superior bucket fill and reduce material packing.

Hammers — Ideal for sites with challenging ground conditions like rock and shale, Cat hydraulic hammers are used across a range of demolition, construction, production breaking and quarry applications, including breaking concrete sidewalks and driveways, bitumen roads, masonry, landscaping and site preparation. 

Rippers — For clay and compact dirt conditions, Cat rippers are the ideal attachment and are available in a range of sizes, from 490mm to 1800mm, ensuring you can find the right ripper for your application.

Lifting and Material Handling

Mini excavators are used for a range of lifting and material handling applications, enabling your operators to get more work done with the one machine and reducing the need to employ a crane on site. While a highly versatile lifting machine, it’s important to ensure you don’t exceed the lift capacity and radius of your mini excavator — always ensure the load you’re lifting is in line with the load recommendations for your machine and don’t forget to also factor in the weight of the attachment. Depending on what you’re lifting, a range of attachments can be utilised, including grapples and hydraulic thumbs.

Grapples — Delivering optimum material handling capabilities, Cat grapples are available as contractors grapples and demolition and sorting grapples. However, due to weight considerations, only mini excavators in the 7-9 tonne-class can utilise these attachments which are widely utilised across the waste and recycling industries in addition to demolition.

Hydraulic Thumbs — With the hydraulic controls inside the cab, your operator can easily grasp and move a range of items, enabling an instant transition from digging and prying tasks to a lifting and material handling solution. Cat hydraulic utility thumbs well with most all buckets and couplers, and as they’re retractable, allow for normal bucket loading when not in use.

Maximise Time and Efficiency with an Automatic Coupler

To change attachments and quickly move from one job to the next with ease, a coupler is an investment many businesses recognise the benefits of, including maximising time on site by completing multiple jobs in less time. In addition to increasing efficiency by enabling you to switch over attachments quickly and easily, couplers like the Cat Dual Manual Coupler and the Cat Tilting Dual Lock™ pin grabber couplers are a great innovation for safety due to their simplicity of use that ensures attachments are fitted easily and securely.

As the official Cat dealer for Queensland and Northern Territory, Hastings Deering offers an extensive range of Cat attachments to increase the versatility of your mini excavators and maximise your time on site. To learn more about Cat attachments and how they benefit your operations, contact your local Hastings Deering branch.