Ranking of the best excavator grabs for 2022

A grapple (from the German “greifen” - “grab”) is a device designed for pulling / loading bulk (pulverized, loose, lumpy) and other piece goods. They can be divided into a couple of types: clamshell buckets for digging up the earth and clamshell grips necessary for unloading / loading operations. The former are often used for digging wells or cleaning wells, while the latter are employed in auxiliary work for the movement of various goods in various industries (from construction to shipping).

Grab equipment can be equipped with excavators, loaders, as well as cranes - grabs are installed on their lifting boom.

The control of such a mechanism is reduced to two simple actions - the capture of the load by the jaws of the apparatus and its direct movement. Depending on the type of control, these mechanisms can be rope or motor (drive).

Rope grabs: their types and principle of operation

They are driven by control cables wrapped around the drive drums. In turn, the drums are placed on winches, which are mounted on the lifting mechanism, and the grab itself is suspended on it. Depending on the number of control ropes, the devices can be both multi-rope and single-rope. The former may differ in the number of ropes used - 2, 3 and 4 ropes.

The efficiency of digging a grab on the edges directly depends on the speed at which its jaws close, and on the speed at which the drum located on the drive rotates. The weight of the machine itself will also play an important role, because it must ensure complete stability on the surface.

IMPORTANT! The most common problem for excavators with such equipment is the increased drum rotation speed, which leads to poor soil capture, because increased speeds do not allow you to go deep into the material.Extreme speeds will also be a problem for light excavators, as their mass will not provide downforce, which is necessary, for example, when mining compacted soils.

Single rope grabs

They can be controlled by a single rope, which will be responsible for both lifting and closing the jaws. The main advantage of such devices is that more than one winch is not required for operation, and the installation of the equipment itself is very simple - you just need to attach the attached bracket to the hook. Among other things, single-rope mechanisms are extremely popular for work where frequent replacement of attachments is required.

The entire cycle of operation of single-rope grabs consists of the following steps:

• Lowering. The lifting winch works on the descent, while the grab with open jaws is lowered onto the developed surface. Often the bucket is not slowly lowered, but simply thrown, which allows you to go deeper into the ground. This method allows you to more effectively interact with dense material;
• Capture. The lock mechanism snaps into place and the winch initiates the start of lifting the load, while the jaws gradually begin to close, grabbing the material;
• Climb. After the jaws are completely closed, and the winch at this time continues to work on the rise, winding the cable. In the process, the bucket breaks away from the work surface and rises to a small height;
• Unloading. The bucket is moved by the operator to the right place and lowered to the surface. This leads to the opening of the lock and the beginning of the lifting of the bucket, which leads to the full opening of the jaws and spillage of the load.

As can be seen from the above cycle, operations with a single-rope grapple are more tied to the use of gravity (opening the lock when lowering, throwing the bucket for better grip, etc.). All this lowers the quality of effective work. Therefore, in this system, additional devices can be used, for example, an unloading cable (forcibly blocks the jaws, regardless of how high the bucket itself is) or stabilizing cables (prevent excessive rocking of the grip during manipulation).

Two-rope grabs

They are distinguished from those described above by the presence of two drum drives operating independently of each other. One is responsible for vertical movements, and the other is responsible for manipulating the jaws. In general, such a system significantly reduces the wear of the cables, increasing the overall reliability of the entire mechanism.

The cycle of work on two ropes is a bit incomparable with a single rope:

• Lowering. At this point, the jaws are in a fully open state, and the descent is slower;
• Capture. When in contact with the surface to be treated, the second cable starts to work, its efforts provide better closure of the jaws and high-quality material intake;
• Climb. After the jaws are completely closed, both winches begin to work - one works to move, and the second supports the closed bucket. The main problem at this stage is to ensure the synchronous operation of both ropes, which is not always possible. Therefore, most modern grapples are equipped with automatic synchronizing devices;
• Unloading. The opening of the bucket hanging at a height is carried out by loosening the cable responsible for the manipulation of the jaws.

This system of double-rope grabs is the most popular and efficient, and when using special synchronizers - the most preferable in terms of price / quality.

3 and 4 rope grapples

By and large, their principle of operation is not much different from a two-rope system - it's all about enhanced support for the operation of the mechanism at a certain stage. In a three-rope system, one rope is responsible for lifting/lowering, and the other two are responsible for opening/closing the jaws. In the four-rope system, one cable is separately responsible for the descent, the other for the ascent, the third for opening the jaws, and the fourth for closing them. Thus, an increase in the number of cables in the system only leads to an improvement in its reliability.

Motor grabs (driven)

In such systems, the control of the jaws is implemented using a separate separate drive that transmits power from the diesel / electric engine to the working elements.

The engine itself, which transmits the force, can be included in the grapple design itself or taken out of its limits with placement, for example, on the loading and lifting mechanism. The latter option means an additional supply of individual cables to the clamshell device.

According to the type of motor, these grippers are divided into:

• Electromagnetic - they temporarily create a magnetic field under the influence of an electric current, which causes the jaws to close. When the formation of a magnetic field stops (by turning off the electric current), the jaws open. This grip is convenient to use when loading / unloading various kinds of metal objects, because even the smallest metal chips will be collected when the magnetic field is working, when the jaws are closed;
• Electromechanical - the working force, which causes the jaws to close / open, is transmitted to them using either a gear, or a belt, or a gear, or a screw, or another transmission mechanism. Such grabs are the simplest and most reliable in their class, thanks to the articulated jaw system, which are powered by an electric motor with polypaste;
• Hydraulic - equipped with a system of supply hoses (hoses) and special hydraulic cylinders. With the help of fluid injection in the cylinder capacity, the gripper is lowered / raised, as well as the opening and closing of the jaws;
• Pneumatic - have the same principle of operation as hydraulic, only now the pumped liquid is replaced by air, which is supplied using a special compressor.

Buckets and tongs: differences in grippers by type of jaws

Jaw shapes determine what type of materials the gripper is designed to work with:

• Bucket grabs are used for excavation work, are used in the extraction of minerals. They often have to work with dense soil, therefore, the edge of the bucket can be additionally equipped with pointed teeth;
• Tong grabs are designed for loading round timber, various pipes (both metal and plastic), working with scrap metal;
• Fork grabs are usually used in the agro-industrial sector - with their help it is convenient to load hay, silage, other loose or fibrous materials.

Various bulk/small items (especially those that can leak out) are loaded using closed (or semi-closed) bucket grabs. It is their tight closing of the blades that does not allow losing the load.

Also, the grips can differ in the trajectory of application.The diggers are adapted to a pronounced acute angle of cutting into the working surface, while the loading ones have enough work at a right angle.

Among other things, some grapples can be multifunctional and can be made to suit specific needs. As a rule, such models are equipped with a rotary grab rotator, which allows them to be used both for digging and for loading.

The main characteristics that affect the cost of the grab

The cost of the described attachments for an excavator consists of many parameters:

• Capture capacity in cubic meters;
• Maximum load capacity;
• Dimensions open and closed;
• Mass of the device without load;
• Type of drive used;
• The number of jaws at the grip;
• Type of cargo for which the grab can be used;
• Possible material density (for diggers);
• Drive power (for those equipped with an engine);
• Number of ropes (for rope).

Thus, it is possible to bring specific prices only by choosing specific parameters, and their choice will depend on the area in which the equipment will need to be used.

Ranking of the best excavator grabs for 2022

Forestry hydraulic grab ARBOR 4-0

Currently, this grip is the flagship among the models from the German company Wimmer International. Specially designed for loading/unloading round timber. The body and blades are made of high wear resistant steel WHD-450. Freely copes with the movement of logs with a diameter of 220 mm, while not causing them serious damage. After turning off the engine, the blades will still hold the load for half an hour. The purpose of the grapple can be easily changed by changing the blades.

• Convenient change of blades;
• Wear-resistant housing;
• Retention of cargo during emergency shutdown of systems.

• There may be problems finding consumables.

Anvil Attachments Magnetic Metal Grab

A round electromagnet is installed in the design of the device, which works much more efficiently than the classical one, because it uses the “finite element method”. Due to the use of a special alloy in the blades (alloyed steel A-514), it was possible to increase their strength, while reducing their weight by 35%. The hinge axes have undergone additional processing, which will significantly increase their service life. The blades themselves can be supplied both in closed and semi-closed configuration.

• Huge variability of a complete set;
• The body is made of alloy steel;
• Relatively small own weight.

• High price, despite the fact that absolutely all nozzles may be needed only by a very narrow circle of buyers.

Sennebogen bucket grab SMG series

A multifunctional grab that can work both with metal and is adapted for digging up the earth. Cutting edges can be equipped with sharpened teeth with carbide tips. The design uses materials that do not harm the environment.It can be used as well as an earth-moving tool. It is possible to supply a version with interchangeable pads for working underwater (at shallow depths).

• Extended operational resource;
• Application in the design of environmental materials;
• Multifunctionality.

• Requires periodic maintenance.

Rope grab "Professional"

This Russian-made equipment is designed to work with various bulk materials of different densities. The equipment is perfect for loading and unloading, can be used in seaports and quarries in the extraction of minerals.

• Budget price;
• No problems with components (representative offices in 38 largest cities of the Russian Federation);
• Good technical support.

• Narrow scope;
• Impossibility of modernization.

4-rope grab VVMZ model VG2-2-S3-4k-O.5

Another model of a reinforced gripper from the Russian Volga-Vyatka Mechanical Plant. Designed for transportation of bulk substances - clinker, limestone, wet sand, metallurgical slag.The use of four ropes in the system significantly increases the operational life, while the force produced during the grip is increased four times.

• Increased wear resistance;
• Increased grip force;
• Large variability of materials for reloading.

There may be significant delays in the work when the ropes are being reshuffled.

Clamshell for excavator-loader CAT G315B WH

The model is extremely limited in its functionality, which cannot be said for its price (quite high). In this case, the manufacturer's brand - Caterpillar, which has proven itself from the best side in this market segment over the past century, plays an important role. The specified model is intended exclusively for work with low-density materials (plastic waste, food waste, etc.)

• The manufacturer's brand guarantees the reliability of the design;
• Extended work item scope;
• Optimal fluid flow in the circuit.

• Low functionality.

Instead of an epilogue

The conducted analysis of the market shows that this segment is quite full of various models and allows you to make a reasonable choice.If we dwell on foreign brands, then the secondary market is more filled with them. Russian brands occupy an average position in the primary market, but only because of their reduced price. In any case, the choice between used and new equipment should be made based on current tasks and the expected duration of use of the device. It is worth noting that it is completely impossible to navigate the prices by monitoring Internet sites for new models - you can find out the price for new copies only by requesting it directly from the dealer or manufacturer. In turn, the search for the required model in the secondary market is extremely limited, as a rule, it is not possible to assemble the clamshell grip completely “for oneself” there and one has to look for the necessary equipment in a ready-made version for a long time.