We nipped down to the ACE Expo in Melbourne this week and were stopped in our tracks by an excavator operator doing some pretty nifty stuff with the Swedish Steelwrist tiltrotator, a unit that can tilt 45 degrees (for a total of 90 degrees) and rotate through a full 360 degrees.
The cast steel tiltrotator, which features vertical tilt cylinders for digging in narrow trenches and a quick coupler with a front pin lock for safe tool changes, is available in sizes to work with excavators from 2 tonnes to 34 tonnes and over.
The unit being demonstrated in the video is the X12, which suits diggers of between 7 tonnes and 12 tonnes.
The tiltrotator is being used with an integrated four-finger gripper cassette that is capable of some very fine work. The cassettes come in sizes from the X04/06, which has an opening width of 425mm and a lift capacity of 250kg, to the X32, which comes in at 967mm and 1,200kg.
It’s also paired with one of Steelwrist’s grading buckets, which are designed with indented corners and tapered backs for easier cutting and emptying.
Control is through a pistol-grip joystick with a finger roller for controlling a gripper or the wheels or tracks of the excavator.
Rounding out the package are the XControl control system and multiple sensors for integration with third-party telematics products.
Steelwrist president and CEO Stefan Stockhaus tells TradeEarthmovers.com.au that the Steelwrist changes the way you operate an excavator and has the potential to give you a 20 to 25 percent productivity boost — good news if you quote on fixed-price contracts.
“We sell about 1,000 units per year,” Stockhaus says, “and we’re currently investigating the Australian market with a view to entering it in 2016.”
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Steelwrist’s integrated four-finger gripper cassette.
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Click here to find rotary tilt quick hitches for sale.