Whilst looking for some info; found an interesting web page and a query!

[Gavin Phillips]

I spotted a Hanix mini excavator on a flatbed today while heading into Sunderland; I've never seen many of these machines before but am familiar enough with their livery to recognise it as one of their older machines from the Nissan/Hanix years. So I've been looking around the Web and found Hanix have now re-emerged and are producing machines again which look entire different from the one I supposed today.

http://www.hanixeurope.com/index.aspx

Anyway, the interesting website would be this one, seemingly chronicling the history of the mini excavator. Now I don't know enough to say if all of the facts are correct or if they are not but there's a particular bit in that page that really interests me; and that's to do with what is referred to as "ultra-swing".

http://www.executivehirenews.co.uk/archives/001145.html

As well as pioneering conventional style tracked mini excavators with protruding rear counterweights, many Japanese manufacturers developed machines with zero tail swing and ultra swing. Brown & Tawse first brought in Nissan S&B series ultra swing machines to the UK in 1986. Weighing 2.92 and 5.17 tonnes respectively, the S&B15 and S&B25 each had a parallel action offsetable upper boom that allowed a loaded bucket to be slewed through 360° virtually within their own track width.

Just another name for a knuckle-boom then or something else? Its not something I see that often even in urban construction. Hitachi had a few UH-series excavators fitted with a similar offset-boom configuration but I don't have any details on those yet.

So, who was the first to come up with the zero tailswing concept? IHI released a 9UX model in around the 89/90's period. A tiny 1ton machine but this is the oldest proper zero tailswing machine I'm aware of.

Best regards

Gavin

[widget]

Hi Gavin,
Many companies have made various claims such as the following quote from Yanmar:

". In 1971 Yanmar designed and manufactured the world's first mini-excavator, the YB600C. In 1994, the company pioneered the first True Zero Tail Swing Mini Excavator."

I know I haven't got the answer and I cant recall the first one I worked on! (but I know as a fitter i wasn't impressed with the work involved to carry out any hydraulic repairs )

It wouldn't surprise me if Richard Smalley could make the claim tho considering the equipment he has made throughout time

I can also remember reading in Earthmovers blog

" Richard Smalley had decided to call his new machines Mini Diggers, but following a complaint from the Austin Motor Company, who already held the Mini trademark following the 1959 launch of its Mini car, Mr Smalley was forced to change the machines name to the Smalley 360.".............I wonder if this is still upheld by BMW with other manufacturers?

It would still be interesting to see if any members can recall there first zero swing machine tho....it cant be that long ago

[Gavin Phillips]

Hello Widget and thank you for the reply.

Well IHI's 9UX model seems to beat the Yanmar machine by a few years but as you say, its not quite as simple as that. The first zero-tailswing machine that I actually ever saw was around 2000, it being a Kubota U45 in the original turquoise colour. Later on they switched the livery back to be the same as the "regular" machines.

Maybe this will turn into something similar to "who made the first backhoe loader"?

Best regards

Gavin

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Gavin and Widget.
There is a difference between 'zero tail swing' and 'zero swing'.

Zero tail swing machines only keep the back end/counterweight within the track frame footprint when slewing. The boom/dipper/bucket are all still outside the track footprint.

Zero swing machines are able to raise their boom and fold their dipper AND loaded bucket in such a manner that both the front and back ends are totally within the track footprint when slewing. It is usually fairly easy to pick a zero swing machine once you have seen a couple of them and noted their design/build characteristics. They all have a deeper recess back into the bodywork for the boom to raise/retract further back into the body area to allow the dipper and bucket to come back further so that they are within the track footprint. These machines will commonly raise their boom so that most of it is BEHIND the operator's station.

A zero swing machine will work totally within the width of its own tracks. This means that you can walk one in between two walls that are only wide enough for the tracks to fit through and still slew 360 degrees in that space. Handy, huh?

Just my 0.02.

[Gavin Phillips]

Very handy indeed! Thank you Deas Plant!

I was unaware that there would be a difference between zero tailswing and zero swing machines, although thinking about it now its far more obvious and I will be looking out for this the next time I see one of these working somewhere. Most that I've seen are the zero tailswing machines with a front-mounted boom, rather than a side-mounted one. There are also "reduced tailswing" excavators as well, JCB seems to be quite fond of those, recently spotted an 8065 RTS with rubber tracks which fits into this category.

This particular machine shows the front boom mounting which is still very common here.

Best regards

Gavin

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Gavin P.
Many of the zero swing units also have rounded front outer corners on the cabs and sliding doors to enable access in tight spaces.

Looking for that extra space in the panel work behind the boom is a good indicator of whether it is a zero tail swing or a zero swing machine. Boom and boom lift ram configuration can also be an indicator.

I have had my favourite rump steak in quite a few excavators over the years although only a very few of them were zero tail swing. I have yet to operate a bigger zero tail swing machine that was as stable as its conventional counterparts, bigger counterweights and all.

Just my 0.02.