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Folding Excavator
The
“demining excavator ” is an excavation tool designed to assist when digging in hard ground. The user's entire forearm supports the tool, relieving strain on the wrist.
Starting well back from the centre of the detector
reading (at least 20cm) the user digs a downward slope towards
the reading with the excavator, then uses the front age of its blade to scrape forward and expose the side of the detector signal.
 The
picture on the right shows an Excavator exposing a VS50 that is
on its side – with the pressure plate facing the tool. This was
a “set-up” for a blast test. The tool is used with a forward thrust,
followed by a sideways sweep to remove the loosened spoil.
The
orientation of the tool’s cutting face and non-shatter polyethylene,
“punch-grip” handle is designed so that it is easiest to use with
the hand close to the ground. A washable ballistic aramid blast-guard
attaches in front of the user’s hand. The tool’s cutting
blade is bent so that the sideways scooping motion removes more
spoil, and to give the blade greater strength. The cutting blade
is made using a malleable Stainless Steel that is sharpened on
the leading and lower edge. The leading edge incorporates a sloped
“spike” to improve its performance on very hard ground.
 The
Excavator folds in half for easy transportation and weighs 0.9kg
(2lb). It’s folding construction uses nylock nuts and bolts that
are behind the hand-guard and well away from any blast point.
All metal parts are hard-chromed
to prevent rust. Hard-chrome binds with the metal surface well
but is dull.
The tool has performed well when placed alongside mines in tests.
Contact
us for more details if you are interested (SDU3020).
All SD tools can be adjusted to meet your requirements
but significant changes should always be blast tested
to ensure that safety has not been compromised.
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Demining folding excavator (one-handed)