Rock breakers are used in various industries, and although their name is self-explanatory, they actually have a wide range of use cases. For example, in landscaping, they can be used to crush larger rocks for easier transportation. In mining, a rock breaker is used to break down materials that don’t fit in a crusher. These are just a couple of the uses, and there are many more.
Let’s take a more detailed look at rock breakers and some of their extremely important uses.
What is a rock breaker?
In very simple terms, a rock breaker is a piece of mining equipment that breaks up rocks. It’s used in mining, landscaping and construction. While there are dedicated machines used for breaking rocks in some circumstances, the most common type is an excavator attachment that attaches to the front of your machine.
The attachment itself works essentially like a piston, with pressure being applied through the excavator’s arm. Basically, it hammers the rocks or hard terrain to break it up into smaller, more manageable pieces. Think of it like a huge jackhammer attached to an excavator.
The idea is to break up the ground or rocks so that the debris can be removed. As we’ll touch on, there are many different specific uses for a rock breaker, but this is the main function.
Are there different size rock breakers?
The size of the rock breaker you choose depends on the scale of the job. The bigger rocks you need to break, the bigger your rock breaker needs to be. Fortunately, there are all types of rock breakers out there in various sizes. The other determining factor is the size of your excavator because you’ll need an attachment that fits.
Here at Earthmoving Equipment Australia, we offer rock breakers that are suitable for 1-tonne diggers up to 55-tonne excavators. So, there’s a lot of variety out there, and if you’re unsure of the rock breaker size you need, it always pays to ask your supplier.
Breaking rock for landscaping
Rock breakers are a popular tool for landscaping. In fact, there are multiple ways they can be used in this setting. Firstly, the rock breaker can crush rock into smaller pieces, which makes it easier to use as a base for patios and pathways. But in addition, it can be useful for breaking down larger rocks that can’t be moved by hand. You may want to use large rocks for a garden wall, for example. Using a rock breaker, you can split those rocks to be more easily moved around the work site and utilised accordingly.
Breaking concrete
We’ve probably all seen a jackhammer in use, breaking up small areas of concrete. But what if you have a larger area of concrete that needs to be removed? Rather than spending hours slaving away with a jackhammer, if you’ve got an excavator available, using a rock breaker attachment is a much more time-efficient way to do the work.
A rock breaker can crush concrete into smaller debris, making it easy to remove from the site. By the same token, if you want the concrete crushed small enough to be re-used elsewhere in a project, you can do that with a rock breaker, too.
Rock breakers in the mining industry
In the mining industry, rock breakers are commonly used to break up large rocks. This is because a lot of mining operations also use rock crushers, but some rocks are too large to fit. So, breaking them up makes the process a whole lot easier.
There are multiple situations where rocks may need to be broken up around a mine site. Usually, this is for transportation purposes. Even excavators can’t handle rocks of a certain size, so a rock breaker is used to make them smaller prior to removal.
Clearing rocky terrain
Rock breakers can also be used in the construction industry, where rocky terrain needs to be essentially removed. It may be that the construction of a building or even a road is impeded by rocky surfaces. A rock breaker can be used to break up the ground, making it easier for other equipment to come in and remove the debris before preparing the site for construction.
Do you have a use for a rock breaker?
Here at Earthmoving Equipment Australia, we have a huge range of rock breakers for all types of applications. In fact, we’ve got rock breaker attachments suited to 1-tonne diggers all the way up to 55-tonne excavators. Not to mention, they also come with a 2-year factory warranty. So, whether you need to buy or you need to rent one of our reliable Case excavators with a rock breaker attachment, we’ve got you covered. Contact our friendly team today, and we’ll be more than happy to discuss your needs and ensure you get the right equipment for the job.