The 70tonne, 360degree back-actor is working in Fairhurst’s sandstone quarry at Ravensworth, County North Yorkshire where it digs out blocks of stone weighing up to 30tonnes. The blocks are loaded into the company’s own fleet of HGVs and taken to be cut into high quality York stone slabs for paving and landscaping.
The machine was delivered by Case dealer C J Leonard & Sons based in Guisborough, Cleveland, to replace an older piece of equipment.
Fitted with a Miller Rock Bucket, the new digger will pick up 30tonne blocks with no difficulty, says Edward Fairhurst, director of Fairhurst Stone.
The CX700B ME has tear-out forces of up to 224kN; extremely fast loading and a modern engine and hydraulic management.
The machine, which is soon due to move to the company’s quarry in Whitworth, County Lancashire, works long hours and so operator comfort is also vitally important.
Equipped with the latest Case B Series cab, the CX700B ME offers space and comfort with minimal noise and vibration to ensure fatigue-free operation on even the longest shifts.
Operators can select from a choice of modes to suit the application: Super power mode gives speed priority when required while Heavy Working mode optimises productivity and fuel efficiency. The Automatic High Dump mode helps reduce cycle times, thereby also boosting productivity.
Safety is assured with a cab structure which is three times more rigid than previous designs. The short joysticks provide excellent control with minimal effort.
As well as low fuel consumption, the new Case CX700B ME has long service intervals (for example, 5,000 hours between hydraulic fluid changes and 1,000 hour bucket lubrication intervals) thus reducing maintenance costs and machine downtime.
