The strong, silent type

First seen at SED '95, Ardennes Equipment's CB700 dipper mounted concrete pulverisers, currently on hire from UK distributor PSE Machinery, are proving an attractive alternative in a sector traditionally dominated by hammers.

On regular hire, according to PSE, the two CB700 pulverisers, each worth around œ42,000 and weighing in at 2,150kg, are winning the attention of UK demolition contractors for several reasons.

Not only can the vibrationless units rotate 360¼, but they are also able to crush and cut materials in relative silence - unlike conventional hydraulic hammers.

In addition, long reach arms - a relatively recent development from Ipswich-based Kocurek - are enabling the excavator mounted units to be used at far greater heights. Using one of its long reach arms, which comprises a 12m boom and a 9m straight dipper, Kocurek has converted a 32t FH300 Hitachi excavator into a 38t machine with a 19m reach.

Recently on hire to Kent-based Erith Group, this machine, known as the KH380, has been central to the demolition of a 50ft high, steel and concrete office block in an environmentally sensitive area in Seven Oaks. Commenting on the attraction of the CB700 mounted machine, Erith plant manager, John Rixon said:'It not only replaces a hammer, but it also replaces manual labour.'

The unit has also been used by Cantillon Demolition to demolish concrete council flats at the Lefevre Estate in Bow, London.

In July Kocurek will be launching a three piece demolition arm for an Hitachi FH400 machine. Produced at its new Ipswich factory, this arm will give Hitachi's machine, which will have been ballasted to 57t, a 27m reach.

Other features distinguishing the CB700 and its sister units, the CB500 and CB1100, from other pulverisers on the market, include a square opening jaw and a side mounted rebar cutter.

Unlike conventional cutters which are mounted between the jaws - this patented rebar cutter is located on the outside in full view of the driver.

Each jaw is mounted separately on its own pivot so that when fully retracted they present a square opening, thereby allowing material to be taken to the very back of the throat where the greatest force is generated. Unlike a conventional single pivot scissor system that tends to expel material, the Ardennes jaws pull the material in as they close.

The smallest unit, the CB500 has a shear jaw opening of 220mm, the CB700 370mm and the big CB1100, 460mm which means that the 700 can cut beams up to 120mm and the 1100 up to 250mm in a single pass.

Explaining the benefits of the CB range which has been marketed in France since its launch in 1993, Eric Poncin, Ardennes Equipment's product manager said:'The secret is in the way the jaws operate. The transversely mounted hydraulic ram exerts all its force directly in the same plane as the breaking action, whereas scissor action jaws can only exert around 70% of the total ram force.'

Highlighting the overall benefit of the attachment at a recent demonstration at Charleville-Mezieres, which involved the demolition of an old Ford factory, PSE director Norman Horsler said: 'One person with a machine can literally take down a building.'

On this occasion, however, the CB700 pulveriser mounted on a Liebherr 942 Litronic was used in conjunction with other Ardennes equipment.

To date Ardennes Equipment offers more than 4,000 different products, these include: buckets, clamshells, grabs, forks and crackers. Later this year the company will be adding another two dipper shears to its CB range, both are designed to be fitted to 50t and 60t machines.

PSE Machinery has no plans as yet to introduce the CB1100 - suitable for 45t excavators - to the UK, it is, however, buying another CB700.

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