- Guides, Tips, & Knowledge Centre
What is a Grading Beam?
A grading beam is a wide, flat bottomed excavator attachment used for levelling loose aggregates or dirt. It's best used when wanting to finish larger areas of aggregates where using a grading bucket / ditch cleaning bucket would take too long. It's a beneficial attachment for landscapers and groundworkers trying to achieve a level surface before continuing with further work or to finish a a project. Some of the materials it's most effective with include: sand, gravel, crushed tarmac, top soil and type 1 & 2 aggregate. On projects like smoothing out top soil before turfing a garden or levelling out pea shingle on a driveway or footpath.
When should I use a Grading Beam?
The Rhinox Grading Beam has been designed to be a wider and flatter attachment, in comparison to a Grading Bucket. It is common within the construction industry for Grading / Ditching Buckets to be used to level the ground. This is usually done by using the reverse / back / bottom of the bucket. Using the bucket in this way causes additional wear and reduces the lifespan, meaning that the bucket will have to be replaced more frequently than usual. The Grading Beam has been developed to be used for this instead. It has been specifically designed and developed to carry out the same action without causing damage to the attachment.
The Grading Beam is a heavy duty construction, manufactured from hardened steel to maximise the resistance and durability of the attachment. It has been designed with a Machined Edge Blade to allow for flat grading of material and Guiding Fins to enable a closer grade to curbs and objects, as well as to more accurately guide materials into place. Another key feature of the beam, is the Replaceable Headstock which allows for multiple machine pick-ups, enabling the same attachment to be used on multiple machines without the need to repurchase the same attachment. Simple unscrew the bolts and swap the headstock.
Check out some of our Grading Beam videos below:
Grading Beam Size & Cost
Rhinox Grading Beams are currently available for 1,000-9,000 Lbs excavators, with a width of either 48" or 60", for $1,500. Use our machine selection tool to see if we stock grading beams for your excavator.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can you fit a Grading Beam on a Micro Excavator (0.75 Ton / 1,600 Lbs)?
We would advice that it is up to the operators discretion as to whether they think they are capable at using the attachment on a Micro Machine. The Grading Beam is a heavy attachment so when fitted to a Micro Excavator, there is potential for the excavator to struggle. If not used within your excavators safe working parameters it could cause the dipper arm to twist and become damaged. The length that the excavator arm would be able to extent while the attachment is mounted will be reduced due to the size and weight of the beam and the strength of the excavator but can still work effectively at a short distance. We have many customers that use our Grading Beams on a Micro Excavator. To help combat the weight, we would recommend using the 48" width version.
Can the Rhinox Grading Beam be manufactured with a bolt-on cutting edge?
Manufacturing with a bolt-on edge is not possible due to the amount of surface area that would need to be covered. The Grading Beam is a large attachment and due to the heavy duty construction it is already a heavy attachment. Adding a bolt-on cutting edge would require the entire lower side of the beam to be fitted, which would increase the weight considerably more. This added weight would be unmanageable for Mini Excavators and wouldn't been seen as beneficial. As well as the unmanageable weight, the bolt-on edge would hang below the bottom of the beam, meaning that the lower side of the beam would no longer be a flat surface and wouldn't grade / level out materials as designed to do