Hitachi Construction Machinery began accepting orders for the ZX500LCK-7 demolition excavator in Japan on Oct. 1. Three interchangeable boom and arm configurations allow the machine to handle work from upper floors to foundations.
Maximum attachment weights are 5,600 kg for the Monster High Lift configuration and 6,100 kg for the two-piece boom configuration.
Hitachi also revised the transport dimensions and hydraulic piping of the boom and arm assemblies. These changes allow daytime transport under specified conditions and assembly work on a lower platform.
Source: Hitachi Construction Machinery
PSR Analysis: The higher attachment weight limits apply in HEAVY mode, which restricts the working area. In the two-piece boom configuration, operators can use a 5.3-ton attachment over a wider area or a 6.1-ton attachment within a narrower area. The benefit depends on whether the heavier attachment can reach the required work from the available machine position.
Kobelco also launched a 65-ton-class demolition excavator in Japan on Oct. 1. Its high-reach configuration carries a 3.7-ton attachment at an arm-tip height of about 28.2 meters, compared with Hitachi’s 2.7 tons at 28 meters. Machine sizes, configurations and working areas differ, so these figures alone do not establish which performs better. They show how both manufacturers combine reach with heavier attachment capacity.
Interchangeable fronts were already available on Hitachi’s previous model. The new machine adds attachment choices through working-area controls while improving transport and assembly. This extends its capabilities were moving to a larger machine would add site and transport constraints. The development combines physical machine design with more precise control of where heavier attachments can be used. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia
