There’s nothing like a bit of Australian made ingenuity, that mixed with a can-do approach to solving issues faced by local operators has given Queensland equipment manufacturer ShawX an edge
ShawX tilt buckets gives the operator full radial control of the cutting angle by allowing for a continuous variation of the cutting edge, relative to the inclination of the machine.
“We build these tilt buckets with operator in mind,” ShawX representative Brett Shaw says.
“The shape of the bucket is unique, the fact you can get 47° tilt on this buckets is huge.”
Tilt bucket as are generally preferred among contractors doing precision work such as batters, drains and final trim work.
The main focus of the design was getting the main pick up closer to the cutting edge, which increases the breakout performance.
“Reducing the centre pivot down and making it closer to the cutting edge makes the bucket actuation a lot smoother,” Brett explains.
“The closer you can get those; the smoother the movement and when you’re operating it instead of it being very jerky on our buckets it’s very fluid.
The curve of the bucket is also unique and is fabricated in a way that reduces wear and tear on the bottom of the bucket.
“We manufacture these in our workshop in Cleveland, Brisbane and that’s the whole bucket – there is not one thing that on it that’s manufactured elsewhere and we are very proud of that. We currently manufacture buckets from 5-tonne all the way up to 100-tonnes.
“We do all repairs in our own workshop. We see at least 2 to 3 through a week for repairs and has that helped us develop and refine our design over the years.”
Buckets not being greased properly by the operators has been an issue in the past, if that’s not done it can get to the point where you need to buy a whole new bucket and that can obviously be expensive.
“With our design we made all the crucial parts that need to be greased easy for the operator to access- without them needing to go to too much trouble.
“Our 120-tonne bucket is still being developed, but we have a prototype and that isn’t far off from going into production.”
The ShawX 14; 20, and 30-tonne tilt buckets are proving to be the three most popular sizes so far this year.
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EjectX tipper
With the new innovation plough, along with a horizontal ram, the EjectX tipper pushes material through the body as the tailgate automatically lifts while the body remains in a stable, horizontal position, as opposed to a conventional tipper.
This design has major benefits for jobs where operating a conventional tipper truck comes with too many potential hazards and is currently being used by contractors working on the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing.
“You use these anywhere on uneven surfaces, under trees, powerlines — you don’t need to worry about any of that anymore because it doesn’t physically tip,” Brett explains.
“Virtually wherever you can drive the truck; you can unload it without any hassles.”
“We custom-designed this for a customer who was having trouble all there were concerns over tipping such large trucks in confined areas or on potentially unstable ground.
“It’s a normal tipper body with a plough inside it that pushes the contents out of the rear, rather than using gravity —without the need to tip the rear at all.”
Unsurprisingly Brett is seeing huge interest from operators who are concerned about using a conventional tipper truck on those tricky jobs.