Ripping it up

The Multi-Ripper from Leading Edge Attachments Inc., Jefferson, Mass. (leadingedgeattach-ments.com), uses the hydraulic rolling action on off-road equipment like excavators to rip into hard ground. The design, dubbed "staggered shanks on an arc," makes sure no pair of teeth on the attachment is aligned. This means maximum breakout force is applied sequentially and individually to each pair of teeth. The small distance between the excavator stick pivot and tooth tips effectively multiplies the tip force. Operators say it breaks through shale, caliche, sandstone, limestone, asphalt, frozen ground, coral, layered cement, slate, and other fragmented rock at one-fourth the time needed by hydraulic hammers.