Hydraulic crawler excavator
Excavadora hidráulica sobre orugas
- Date
- 1951 · confidence medium
- Place
- Le Plessis-Belleville, Oise, France
- Credited to
- Poclain (Georges Bataille)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
The Poclain TU, with hydraulic cylinders and pumps instead of cables and pulleys, dug with more force, precision and control of the arm. It replaced cable shovels and became the template for modern excavators.
There were earlier trials of hydraulically operated excavators and Armstrong's hydraulic cranes; Poclain's TU was the first successfully commercial series-production one.
What it led to
- today's slewing excavators and backhoes
- much faster earth-moving works
- hydraulic construction machinery in general