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Sorting and gripping

Orange peel grab

Red six-shell grab plunged into a large pile of scrap, in front of a metal fence.
Shell grab plunged into the scrap, in a recycling yard.
It does not pinch, it encloses:
that is what holds loose material.
Photo:
Willians Huerta, Pexels licence, via Pexels, label removed.

Several shells hinged about the same axis, closing into a sphere.
What is taken does not come back out:
that is the whole difference.

Other names for this tool: polyp grapple, shell grapple, spherical grapple, polyp bucket, scrapyard grapple.

The essentials
Family
Sorting and gripping
Classes (t)
Medium and large
Coupler
All, by plate
Power source
Hydraulic, two circuits (opening and rotation) — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine

Identify your coupler →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, once closed, the shells enclose the bulk material, which does not fall back. On the right, opened out like a flower above the heap, it is ready to grab. Computer-generated image.
once closed, the shells enclose the bulk material, which does not fall back opened out like a flower above the heap, it is ready to grab
Left: once closed, the shells enclose the bulk material, which does not fall back.
Right: opened out like a flower above the heap, it is ready to grab.
What sets it apart:
it does not pinch, it encloses — that is what makes it hold the bulk that no grab retains.
Computer-generated image.
Multi-shell grab resting on a pile of loose metal parts, in a scrap dealer's shed.
Shell grab resting on a pile of scrap, at a scrap dealer's.
Its shells enclose the loose material, which does not fall back out.
Photo:
IAEA Imagebank, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, resized, label removed.
A shell grapple closed on scrap in bulk, forming a closed volume out of which sections stick; sorting platform and windrows of metal in the background.
Several shells closed into a sphere:
what is taken does not come back out.
Synthetic image.

The shells close against one another and form a closed volume.
The fine material does not escape at the sides, which no grapple with open tines can manage.
It is the geometry of the scrapyard, of the civic amenity site and of loading in bulk.

It almost always works under a rotator:
the grip is taken in line with the heap, not in line with the machine.
The driver orients the tool, closes, lifts, turns, empties, and starts again without moving the tracks.

“Orange-peel grapple” and “scrap grapple” very often designate the same tool. We are not going to invent a difference that does not exist:
the name changes with the seller and the region, the geometry, for its part, can be described — the number of shells, the shape, a solid or slotted volume. See the scrap grapples page.

02 What we check with you

On which machine?

An orange peel grab fits excavators from 2 to 12 t, to be checked with you.
On a mini-excavator from 2 to 5 t: a grab from 160 to 500 kg.
On an excavator from 5 to 10 t: from 280 to 500 kg.
On an excavator from 10 to 20 t: from 390 to 500 kg.
The coupler system, or the pin diameter and pin centres for direct mounting: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What the tool does

Its shells hold from 120 to 500 l, to be checked with you.
It carries from 4 to 6 teeth, to be checked with you.
The permissible load, the width of the shells and their maximum opening: we calculate them with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It works hydraulically for opening and closing, and for rotation when it is hydraulic.
The pressure goes up to 250 bar, to be checked with you.
The flow and the number of circuits, single- or double-acting: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Figures taken from 6 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

Rounded values, taken from the models we track.
A range covers the whole family, class by class.
What is missing, and the value for your machine, are worked out with you.

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Tell us what you pick up, in what kind of yard, and at what height you load.
Send a photograph of the end of the dipper arm:
it will tell us what the machine already has.

What we need to answer you
  • Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
  • The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
  • The coupler in place Its system and its class.
  • The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Not to be confused
  • Multi-tine grapple Principle — two jaws whose tines interlock without closing a volume.
    Use — it quickly clears a tangled heap, and lets the fines drop during the transfer.
  • Four-tine multi-purpose grab Principle — four tines that clamp against a counter-jaw, like a vice.
    Use — it holds a beam, a metal sheet or an isolated stump, which does not roll in the tool.
04 Choice

What determines the choice

  • 01 — The number of shells Few shells for bulky scrap, more for fine bulk:
    it is that number that decides how tight the grip is.
  • 02 — Solid or slotted shells Solid to hold the fine, slotted to let the soil and the water out.
    Two different trades under the same name.
  • 03 — The rotation Continuous or limited:
    on a handling station, the stop of a limited device is paid for every day.
  • 04 — The weight at the end of the arm The grapple, its rotator and the load add up.
    The load chart is read at the working reach, not at the foot of the machine.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The material and its particle size Long scrap, fine bulk, mixed waste:
    the grip is not the same.
  • The hydraulic circuits available The opening and the rotation do not share the same circuit.
  • The load chart at the real reach Grapple closed, loaded, arm extended.
  • The safety of the suspended load A load that falls is an accident, not a breakdown.
The other handling tools
What you need under the boom
The safety of the load
To go further
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos