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  1. Compact Equipment Magazine
  2. Mini Excavators

Mini Excavators

These Popular Mini Diggers Are Also Awesome Tool Carriers

The mini or compact excavator segment stands as one of the hottest machine markets in U.S. construction equipment. Its popularity stems from its versatility and size. Operators can easily transport mini excavators, and these machines handle a variety of onsite applications. These include digging basements, burying downspouts, compacting soil, trenching service lines or grappling obscenely big, decorative rocks. Manufacturers define these units as excavators under 8 metric tons. Designers equip them with an undercarriage and tracks, a long digging arm, and a cab or ROPS enclosure. With dig depths ranging between 5 and 15 ft+ and operating weights between 2,000 and 20,000 lbs, compact excavators maneuver into cramped worksites while delivering impressive digging power.

The 3.5- to 4-metric-ton class continues to drive growth in the compact hydraulic excavator market, especially in rental, while the 5- to 6-metric-ton size class gains momentum. Conventional-style compact excavators share the spotlight with minimum and zero tail swing designs. Zero tail swing (ZTS), which ensures the cab stays within the width of the tracks, remains a popular choice. Beyond their many features — such as enclosed cabs, backfill blades, extendable sticks and retractable undercarriages — mini excavators can equip a wide range of attachments to tackle tasks beyond digging, including hydraulic thumbs, breakers, specialty buckets, augers, grapples and mowers. Recent trends in the category include commercially available electric and hybrid variants as well as machine control systems for grading and digging. Examples of mini excavators include:

Takeuchi’s TB Mini Excavators | Caterpillar’s Next Gen Mini Excavators | Kubota’s K, KX and U Compact Excavators

Doosan Infracore North America excavator Doosan Infracore North America, LLC Excavators Summarized — 2021 Spec Guide
August 6, 2021
Read Article
Mini Excavators Cat excavator
Caterpillar Excavators Summarized — 2021 Spec Guide
August 6, 2021
Mini Excavators Case CX37C excavator
Case Excavators Summarized — 2021 Spec Guide
August 5, 2021
Mini Excavators Bobcat e88 excavator
Bobcat Excavators Summarized — 2021 Spec Guide
August 5, 2021
Attachments Takeuchi excavator with mulching attachment
Mulch Makers: Learn How to Select, Operate and Maintain a Forestry Mulcher
July 9, 2021
Mini Excavators
Bobcat Introduces New R2-Series E88 Compact Excavator

Owners and operators looking for exceptional power, leading lift capacity and productivity in an efficient package will meet their match wit...

July 1, 2021
Mini Excavators
Machine Heads: Reviewing Kubota’s KX057-5 Compact Excavator and SVL97-2 Track Loader

Hey internet, welcome back to another episode of Machine Heads. This is once again Keith Gribbins, publisher of Compact Equipment. Today I&r...

June 29, 2021
Mini Excavators
Cat Releases Largest Mini Excavator with an Expandable Undercarriage

Caterpillar continues to revamp its mini excavator line into its Next Generation platform. This week Cat announced three new Next Generation...

June 17, 2021
Mini Excavators
Here Are the Most Popular Mini Excavators on the Rental Lot

So, you need to rent a compact excavator. Well, we’ve actually already written that story, so do read it right here. Maybe you need to...

May 28, 2021
Mini Excavators
Kubota Introduces All-New, Tech-Forward, 5-Ton Tight Tail Excavator

Kubota Tractor Corporation just announced its newest compact excavator, the U48-5, a brand new tight tail swing model that builds upon Kubot...

May 17, 2021
Attachments Mecalac_Thumb_1
Mecalac Adds New Hydraulic Thumb, Increases Material Handling Ease

Mecalac, a leading global designer, manufacturer and distributor of compact construction equipment for urban environments, offers a new hydr...

April 21, 2021
Mini Excavators
ZF Launches First Pilot Project for Electrified Mobile Excavator Drivetrain

According to estimates, by 2050 two thirds of the world’s population will live in large cities which also comes with disadvantages: fi...

April 2, 2021
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