Hydraulic attachments or extended tools have transformed the conventional skid steer into a multi-purpose heavy machine that is capable of performing a wide variety of tasks. These attachments are in essence power tools that are installable or attachable to the hydraulic arm of skid steer loader.
Manufacturers such as John Deere, Caterpillar, Kubota, Komatsu are only some of the leading manufacturers that develop and manufacture these hydraulic extended attachments that are universally compatible not only skid steers of the same make, but also other machines of the same manufacturer such as excavators, compact track loaders and others.
Each type of attachment is designed for specific purposes that range from excavating to earthmoving to dozing, compacting and drilling among others. The beauty of these attachments in general is the fact that by owning a wide range of hydraulic attachments operators would be able to perform different heavy tasks despite the fact that they only own a single machine.
Operators there days only have to switch or change over attachments from one task to another task which does not require extra hands.
‘Smart Technology’ Attachments
The difference between ‘smart’ attachments and standard attachments is the level of technological elements that are plugged in. For the most part smart attachments are instantly recognized by machines that are compatible to them which are then readily controllable without having to configure anything. This reduces downtime for configurations and downtime caused by mistakes during configuration by operators.
Most Smart Attachments once they are connected will prompt the operator on the machine’s display that allow the operator not just full control of the attachment, but also provides the operator of the skid steer with the required information and data about the position of the attachment such as rotation or slope (depending on the type of attachment that is fitted). However, the most notable feature related to Smart Attachment Technology is the advanced controls that they come with.
For example, Grader Blades that are developed with ‘smart’ features allows one of the skid steer’s joystick to control the driving whereas the other joystick provides control of the attachment unlike standard hydraulic attachments that use buttons to control the attachment which makes accuracy an issue especially for inexperienced operators. Similarly ‘smart’ Backhoes allow the operator to utilize both joysticks to control it instead of levers.
Assist Features
The assist feature is quickly becoming a standard on skid steers mainly because they enhance the level of control and stability that operators have while performing grading tasks which essentially allow them to finish their jobs quickly. This directly enhances productivity and bottom lines significantly over time.
The days of manually fixing grader to the blades for the desired position and slope are all but gone as the ASSIST technology does not only maintain the slope and position of the blade, but also automatically makes required corrections that deliver accurate grading quickly.
Smart Technology is being pursued by all manufacturers mainly due to the practicality of these features that render construction related tasks using skid steers much safer and easier to manage.
Apart from the safer and higher productivity element, these systems also provide a solution for the industry with regards to the difficulty of finding experienced operators as these systems bridge the ‘experience gap’ quite effectively even new operators are now able to grade like pros using these smart features.
Operators using such systems have more control of their skid steer loader rentals and are able to manage tasks using the skid steers without having to leave the cab as frequently as they had to before which basically reduced productivity potential.
