Rippers

1. A standard, or static unit
2. A vibrating unit, such as the hugely popular, and high performing Xcentric Ripper units.

Excavator rippers are designed to penetrate the ground surface, then “rip” (dislodge) rocks & other debris, de-layering the ground surface, and breaking it up, to allow access to the material below. It is not designed as a substitute for a digging bucket, of course. Rather supplementary to them, allowing digging buckets to work much more efficiently, once “ripping” has been completed.

Rippers are most useful in material that is already fractured, columned, or layered, making utilising these natural faults in the ground to break up material for removal post-ripping, by a standard, excavator digging bucket.

Rippers are also invaluable when dealing with any “floating” rocks, stumps, etc. With much greater strength than that of a standard, or even HD digging bucket, a ripper can often dislodge the impediments, without the damage a bucket may have sustained.

The shape of the ripper and materials it’s made of, are the most important part of a static ripper. Seems obvious, however more engineering goes into this than most people would appreciate. The shape and materials here dictate the performance and longevity of the unit. Long story short, when comparing static rippers, always keep in mind that not all units are alike, with “cheap” units often showing where money was saved sooner, rather than later.

Turn to an Xcentric Ripper, and you have engineering and manufacturing processes, that rival those used to build aircraft! These units are designed to work all day, every day, even underwater. As such, it’s imperative that they are designed and built to the strictest tolerances. Ironically, these same units require minimal maintenance, ensuring reliability and service life that is often a shock to those unfamiliar with their technology. Basically, build them as well as possible, so they can work as hard as possible, with as little downtime as possible. See the below video for a brief insight into this process.

As mentioned above, there are two main popular types of rippers:

1. A standard, or static ripper. These units have been fitted to excavators and other earthmoving equipment for decades and remain relatively unchanged in their basic design. Made of specialised hardened steel, they are strong, last almost indefinitely (if used and maintained correctly) and are an essential piece of any excavator’s arsenal.
2. Xcentric Rippers. Theses hydraulic powered rippers utilise an eccentric, vibrating motion (not unlike some rock crushers), to essentially drive the unit into the ground, allowing it to reach greater depth, and pull through material, much faster than a static unit. Almost like a combination of a static ripper and hydraulic hammer. This in-turn allows these units to move, depending on unit size, up to and even exceeding 250m3/hr, making them virtually untouchable when doing mass excavations, in many types of material.

For more information on the style of ripper best suited to your application, contact our friendly team today.