Taking a Little Off the Top Reveals New Possibilities

Like the precision of a barber with his shears, an operator with a Brokk and drum cutter attachment can remove unwanted material a little at a time while avoiding inadvertent damage to anything nearby.

The accuracy and power of the machine-attachment combination can take contractors beyond standard drum cutter jobs to open new opportunities for bidding projects, even those with stringent requirements.

Brokk offers several models with cutting teeth up to 4 inches long, but the most common are the ER50 and ER100, which can be paired with our most popular machines. The ER50 is compatible with the Brokk 100 and 160 models and features cutting teeth 1.2 inches long. For the Brokk 160, 260 and 330D, the ER100 has teeth that are more than double that length at 2.6 inches.

The studded surface of the drum cutter rotates to abrade soft to medium-hard materials like dense clay and concrete. It removes thin layers at a time while leaving a relatively smooth surface, which is important for projects where finish is critical. The drum cutter excavates with low impact so it doesn’t disturb surrounding material like hydraulic breakers. The attachment’s low impact operation also means low noise and vibration levels, which is great for interior applications and work on tunnels and bridges.

Our drum cutters allow contractors to take on projects that require the utmost precision, like removing contaminated concrete in containment drums, plants and factories where harmful materials have leaked and soaked into the porous concrete. They also are used to excavate concrete that has delaminated as a result of freeze/thaw cycles, alkali-aggregate reaction or sulfate exposure in water treatment facilities and dams. For those tasks, contractors can remove just the contaminated material and place new concrete only where it’s needed. When it’s necessary to remove all the concrete in an area, operators can take out the contaminated material first and keep it separate from the good concrete, which reduces disposal costs. Other tools, like jackhammers, are less precise; they break up the good and bad concrete together and it all gets contaminated in the process.

The attachment also gives contractors the opportunity to take on tunnel and bridgework they might not have been able to bid on without it. One of the most notable benefits of this attachment is the safety it brings to these projects. The drum cutter gently removes hard, reinforced ground to excavate cross passages in tunnels and cautiously powers through concrete to expose rebar and expansion joints on bridges, all with minimal vibrations or disturbance to the surrounding area. In many of these situations, other machines like jackhammers are not an option because they produce vibrations that could damage surrounding materials and affect the integrity of these structures.

The attachment also reduces the risk of workplace injuries. It easily removes material on walls and ceilings that otherwise would have to be done with handheld equipment. Operators must hold those other types of machines at odd angles, out to the side and above their heads, which puts them at risk for injuries to their hands, arms and backs.

Not only is the Brokk drum cutter safer for workers, it’s also fast. It removes material five times faster than handheld equipment so contractors can accomplish more in less time.

New jobs sometimes require new tools. For delicate yet challenging projects that need just a little off the top, add a drum cutter to your Brokk.