The hydraulic breaker is demolition equipment widely used in the earthmoving and mining industries, designed to break rock and concrete blocks of various hardnesses.
It is not surprising that these powerful tools are so popular because hydraulic breakers can perform many difficult jobs, including demolishing buildings, removing cracked pavement, digging trenches in rock, breaking frozen ground for utility repair, secondary reduction of downed material in quarries, and selective mining of ore pockets in large mines.
Categories.
Based on the size and type of excavator to which they can be applied, hydraulic breakers are divided into three macro categories:
- Small, mainly used for excavation work, road construction sites, urban area demolition and building renovation.
- Medium Breakers, mainly used for building demolition, urban area demolition and secondary quarry demolition.
- Large Breakers, mainly used for major demolition, primary excavation in quarries, foundation excavation, large road and rail tunnels.
Design features.
The hydraulic hammer consists of a hammer body, a casing with cushioning and anti-vibration systems (which surrounds and protects the hammer body), and a tool (“nail” or “chisel”).
The body of the hammer can be produced in one piece (single box) or in several pieces fixed together by four connecting rods (side plate).
The advantages of side-plate hammers are a simpler, often less expensive structure, cooler operation, and reduced operating weight. On the other hand, these hammers are noisier than box-type hammers, the side screws can break, and the plates are not as secure as box-type models.
Boxed hammers use an outer casing that completely surrounds the hammer mechanism, which is usually placed in the casing with blocks of elastic material that separate the pick from the casing and create a shock-absorbing barrier at the top, where the pick is mounted on the holder.
Benefits of the box design include increased protection against debris, quieter operation, reduced shock and vibration transmitted to the holder (due to the elastic top mounting), and no problems with pick mounting screws.
Piston drive.
Hydraulic picks can also be classified according to the primary means they use to “pull” (force down) the piston, which strikes the pick working tool that actually engages the material to be broken. There are three basic piston drive systems on the market today:
nitrogen-gas only, hydraulic oil only, and a combination of nitrogen-gas and hydraulic oil. However, all three systems use hydraulic oil to lift the piston into the operating position.
Manufacturers are often asked which is the best hydraulic piston design. Manufacturers obviously have their own biases, but all three designs have their positives and negatives. All three are good, otherwise they would not be on the market.
5 tips on how to properly use hydraulic breakers:
- First, make sure that the position of the breaker is at a 90-degree angle to the rock or other mass to be demolished, so that the power used is discharged to the maximum.
- The hydraulic breaker must not hit “in a blanke“-hits in the middle cause breakage and damage to the tool stops.
- Do not use the The hydraulic breaker to move large boulders with the tip or body.
- Do not strike in the same spot for more than 30 seconds: if you stay in the same position for a long time, the hydraulic oil will overheat and you may block the piston.
- Never use The hydraulic breaker unless you have preheated the hydraulic oil at least 15 minutes beforehand.