A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles. The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern military engineering vehicles are expected to fulfill numerous roles such as; bulldozer, crane, grader, excavator, dump truck, breaching vehicle, bridging vehicle, military ferry, amphibious crossing vehicle, and combat engineer section carrier.
A skid loader, skid-steer loader (SSL), or skidsteer is any of a class of compact heavy equipment with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.
A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoes, hydraulic brakes, power steering systems, automatic transmissions, garbage trucks, aircraft flight control systems, lifts, and industrial machinery.
Excavators are heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house" - although the largest form ever, the dragline excavator, eliminated the dipper in favor of a line and winch.
A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery.
A backhoe is a type of excavating equipment, or excavator, consisting of a digging bucket on the end of a two-part articulated arm. It is typically mounted on the back of a tractor or front loader, the latter forming a "backhoe loader". The section of the arm closest to the vehicle is known as the boom, while the section that carries the bucket is known as the dipper, both terms derived from steam shovels. The boom, which is the long piece of the backhoe arm attached to the tractor through a pivot called the king-post, is located closest to the cab. It allows the arm to pivot left and right, typically through a range of 180 to 200 degrees, and also enables lifting and lowering movements.
A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, loader excavator, tractor excavator, digger or colloquially shortened to backhoe within the industry, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor-like unit fitted with a loader-style shovel/bucket on the front and a backhoe on the back. Due to its (relatively) small size and versatility, backhoe loaders are very common in urban engineering and small construction projects as well as developing countries. This type of machine is similar to and derived from what is now known as a TLB (Tractor-Loader-Backhoe), which is to say, an agricultural tractor fitted with a front loader and rear backhoe attachment.
Heavy equipment, heavy machinery, earthmovers, construction vehicles, or construction equipment, refers to heavy-duty vehicles specially designed to execute construction tasks, most frequently involving earthwork operations or other large construction tasks. Heavy equipment usually comprises five equipment systems: the implement, traction, structure, power train, and control/information.
A jackhammer is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are generally powered by compressed air, but some are also powered by electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig-mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are usually hydraulically powered. These tools are typically used to break up rock, pavement, and concrete.
The USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns.
A compact or mini excavator is a tracked or wheeled vehicle with an approximate operating weight from 0.7 to 8.5 tonnes. It generally includes a standard backfill blade and features independent boom swing.
A blowout preventer (BOP) is a specialized valve or similar mechanical device, used to seal, control and monitor oil and gas wells to prevent blowouts, the uncontrolled release of crude oil or natural gas from a well. They are usually installed in stacks of other valves.
A long reach excavator is a type of excavator where the arm has been extended to reach farther than a normal excavator would. It is often used in demolition of buildings, but it can also be used in other applications.
TAKRAF Group (“TAKRAF”), is a global German industrial company. Through its brands, TAKRAF and DELKOR, the Group provides equipment, systems and services to the mining and associated industries.
A tiltrotator is a hydraulic attachment/tool used on most excavators, and backhoes between 1,5 and 40 tons in the Nordic countries. A tiltrotator is mounted on the excavator such that the excavator bucket can be rotated through 360 degrees and one tilts +/- 45 degrees, in order to increase the flexibility and precision of the excavator. The Tiltrotator was introduced to the market in Sweden in the early 1980s by the Norgrens under the family owned and operated company named Noreco, and has become the standard in Scandinavia. The concept has recently gained popularity in other countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Japan, Canada and United States.
An auxiliary hydraulic system delivers pressurized hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic pump to operate auxiliary equipment or attachments. The addition of an auxiliary hydraulic system to heavy construction equipment increases the versatility of the vehicle by allowing it to perform additional functions with different attachments.
Wacker Neuson SE with headquarters in Munich, Germany, is a manufacturer of construction equipment and compact machines for concrete and construction site technology listed on the stock market. The group includes the product brands Wacker Neuson, Kramer and Weidemann. The family business, founded in 1848, employs around 6,600 people worldwide (2023).
Twinkle Toes is the largest excavator in the Southern Hemisphere. It was used in Christchurch to demolish tall buildings following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes before moving to Wellington following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake.
Demolition is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for reuse purposes.
The AEV 3 Kodiak is a Leopard 2 main battle tank (MBT) based armoured engineering vehicle that can be used for a wide variety of battlefield engineering, infrastructure and support roles. These roles can include, but would not be limited to, minefield breaching, route denial, dozing and digging tasks, and the erection or demolition of obstacles. The vehicle was originally developed for a Swiss Army requirement by the consortium of Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH (Germany) and RUAG Defence (Switzerland).
