Construction machinery manufacturer Bobcat has launched a new dipper stick-mounted hydraulic clamp for the company's 320, 322 and 323 mini-excavators.

The hydraulic clamp, when used with a trenching bucket, functions like a human thumb and allows the operator to grasp, lift and place broken concrete and asphalt, tree stumps, stone blocks and other objects, with great speed and accuracy.
The hydraulic clamp is an added-value attachment for the rental industry, increasing the versatility and utilisation of Bobcat mini-excavators in the fleet. There is no need to dismount the clamp when it is not being used – it can be retracted so it does not interfere with normal digging work – providing further advantages in rental applications, explains a spokesman for the company.
The hydraulic clamp provides operational advantages in demolition and road repair, for picking up debris and loading it into waiting trucks and trailers and is also useful in landscape construction for clean-up operations or the placement of boulders and stones in feature work. Supplied in kit form, the hydraulic clamp comprises a grapple for clamping, a hydraulic cylinder (actuated by the auxiliary hydraulic system on the mini-excavator), cylinder mount, port relief, the hoses needed for hook-up and the pins required to install the clamp on the excavator.
Bobcat is part of the Bobcat and club car sector of diversified industrial firm, Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited (IR), a global innovation and solutions provider with powerful brands and leading positions within its markets.
During the past five decades, the company and its products have changed to meet the world's needs. Today, the Bobcat family includes skid-steer loaders, compact excavators, and dozens of attachments.
The company has also introduced modern manufacturing techniques such as computer numeric control and robotics along with stringent quality and cost control processes that have helped it remain competitive in the world marketplace, says the spokesman.