Excavators are
heavy construction equipment consisting of a
boom, stick,
bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with
tracks or
wheels. They are a natural progression from the
steam shovels and often mistakenly called
power shovels. All movement and functions of a hydraulic excavator are accomplished through the use of
hydraulic fluid, with
hydraulic cylinders and
hydraulic motors. Due to the linear actuation of hydraulic cylinders, their mode of operation is fundamentally different from cable-operated excavators which uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements.