Development of a novel hydraulic breaker for attachment on excavation equipment

Hydraulic breaker attachments for excavators have been used throughout the world in theconstruction, demolition and quarrying industries for over 40 years. Their development hasseen only incremental improvements during this time. Major advancements in performanceare unlikely based on the mechanism utilised. The market however, continues to demandsuperior performance-to-weight ratio with lower cost of ownership. Customers want to reducethe resources required to operate their machines, increase the efficiency of breakers and fuelconsumption, while high noise levels remain a debilitating by-product of the technology.Webster Technologies (WT) has a long history of developing pioneering “heavy” equipmentsince 1965. More recently, WT have been successful in developing a “gearbox-less” rockcutter attachment for excavators, which is now sold globally. Following extensive researchinto alternative methods for generating higher impact forces, WT has developed a new type ofbreaker concept unique to the market. The technology has the potential to address many of thecustomer issues just outlined and make a step-change in breaker performance.The revolutionary solution is based on a novel catapult piston mechanism, which has beensuccessful up to proof of concept (PoC) stage. During trials, the PoC system has demonstrated4500 joules of impact energy at a lower engine revs. Like for like, our system delivers 3 to 4times more impact energy than the best breaker currently available on the market, usingapprox. 20% less fuel. The lower frequency of blows and lower excavator engine revs resultsin a much lower perceived noise level by humans and confirmed by operator feedback duringPoC trials.However, in order to deliver this product to market we must first undertake research anddevelopment to address key challenges which arose during the experimental trials. Byovercoming these challenges we will deliver a fully tested and validated pre-productionprototype.