HKM

Industry Glossary

Terms for hydraulic breakers, attachments, spare parts, drilling, mining, demolition and site work, with equivalents in three languages.

This glossary brings together the terms you meet on site and in export correspondence. Each term is given in Turkish, English and Spanish so you can find the right word in international communication.

Most terms link to the relevant page on this site; follow the link under a definition when you want to go deeper.

Model-level numeric values are deliberately not in the glossary; those live on the product pages and in the selector tools.

90 terms

Hydraulic Breaker(7)

Hydraulic breaker: An attachment that converts the hydraulic power of the carrier machine into impact energy. Its piston is driven back and forth by hydraulic pressure working together with gas chamber pressure, striking the tool.
Impact energy: The energy the breaker transfers to the tool at each blow, expressed in joules (J). Together with the blow rate it determines real capacity; a high blow count alone does not mean power.
Blow rate: The number of blows the breaker makes per minute (bpm). A high bpm means smaller but more frequent blows; hard rock favours low bpm with high energy, softer material favours high bpm.
Gas chamber (nitrogen chamber): A pressurised, nitrogen-filled section in the upper body of the breaker. It acts as a spring on the piston return and contributes to impact energy. If its pressure drops, the breaker strikes fast but weakly.
Blank firing: Striking into air after the material has broken. With no material left to absorb the impact, the energy returns into the breaker body; it is the leading cause of tie rod failures and body cracks.
Silenced (boxed) breaker: A breaker whose body is enclosed in a sound-insulated box. It reduces noise complaints in built-up areas and night work; slightly heavier and bulkier than the open type.
Back head: The upper section that houses the gas chamber. On its return stroke the piston compresses the nitrogen here and stores energy.

Breaker Tools(6)

Moil point: A tool with a conical tip that concentrates energy at a single point. It penetrates material easily and is the most common choice for general use and concrete removal.
Chisel tool: A tool with a flat, chisel-shaped edge. Used to direct the crack in layered material and to open trenches; the edge is oriented to suit the job.
Blunt tool: A flat, wide-ended tool. It spreads energy over a larger area and is preferred for breaking large blocks and secondary breaking. It does not penetrate; it crushes.
Pyramid tool: A tool with a pyramid-shaped tip. It combines the penetration of a moil point with the durability of a blunt tool; long life in abrasive and hard material.
Dust-grooved tool: A tool with a dust evacuation groove along its shank. It reduces dust build-up at the bushing area and extends bushing and seal life on dusty, dry sites.
Mushrooming: The struck end of the tool spreading out over time like a mushroom head. It causes the tool to seize in its seat; corrected by grinding, or the tool is replaced if advanced.

Attachments(10)

Ripper: A passive attachment that tears the ground with a single tooth. It has no hydraulic supply and works on the boom force of the machine. Faster and cheaper than a breaker on layered, fissured ground.
Pulveriser: An attachment that crushes concrete between its jaws to separate it from the rebar. The main tool of post-demolition sorting; enables clean scrap steel recovery.
Hydraulic shear: An attachment that cuts metal profiles, columns, pipe and steel structures. Designed to cut metal, not to crush concrete.
Crusher bucket: A bucket-type attachment that crushes and sizes demolished material on site. It turns rubble into reusable aggregate, directly cutting haulage and disposal cost.
Drum cutter: An attachment that mills material with picks on rotating drums. Because it uses cutting force instead of impact, vibration is low; preferred in tunnels, trenches and slope trimming.
Cutter pick: The conical pick on a drum cutter drum that cuts the material. Worn picks are replaced individually; the main consumable cost in abrasive material.
Hydraulic auger: An attachment that drills holes in the ground by rotation. Used for post holes, foundation piles and tree planting; torque and speed are chosen to suit the ground.
Grapple: An attachment that grips and moves material. Excavator grapples handle stone, rubble and scrap; log grapples are used in forestry and timber work.
Concrete cutter: An attachment that cuts reinforced concrete elements with its jaws. Used for selective removal of columns and slabs that are hard to reach.
Quick coupler: A connection device that lets attachments be removed and fitted quickly. It markedly reduces dead time on sites where one machine uses several attachments.

Spare Parts & Wear(13)

Piston: The main part that converts hydraulic energy into impact, moving back and forth inside the cylinder. Its surface is chrome plated; scoring or chrome flaking cuts the seals and starts oil leakage.
Cylinder: The body part inside which the piston moves. Wear on its inner surface causes internal leakage; the breaker both loses power and heats up.
Front head: The lower section that houses the tool and bushings. Blank firing and delayed bushing changes cause cracks in this part.
Tie rod: The high-tensile rod that holds the breaker body sections together. Correctly torqued and preloaded, it makes the body behave as a single piece; the first element to fatigue under blank firing.
Diaphragm: The flexible element that separates nitrogen from hydraulic oil in the gas chamber. When damaged, gas pressure will not hold and it appears together with oil leakage.
Seal kit: The set of seals and O-rings that keep the breaker tight. Replaced when leakage starts; but if the bushing is worn, changing only the seals is a temporary fix.
Lower bushing: The bushing that centres and supports the tool. When worn, the tool runs off centre and crushes the seal on one side, finishing it quickly; usually the real cause of recurring oil leaks.
Upper bushing: The bushing that centres the upper part of the tool. Together with the lower bushing it keeps the tool on axis; the two are usually assessed together.
Retaining pin: The pin that retains the tool in its seat. As it wears the tool play increases; a deformed pin causes tool seizure and front head damage.
Thrust ring: The ring that limits over-travel of the piston. One of the elements stressed by blank firing.
Accumulator: The element that absorbs the pressure pulsation created by each blow. When it loses pressure the pulsation reaches the hoses and vibration increases noticeably.
Wear plate: A replaceable plate that takes the friction between the body and the bracket. A cheap consumable that prevents expensive body wear.
Internal leakage: Oil bypassing from the pressure side to the return side without doing work. Invisible from outside; its signs are power loss and the circuit heating faster than normal.

Hydraulic System(8)

Oil flow: The volume of oil passing through the circuit per unit time (l/min). It sets the working speed of the attachment; below the range the attachment slows, above it the excess turns into heat.
Operating pressure: The pressure in the attachment line during work (bar). It must not be confused with the machine system/pump pressure; the value used for attachment selection is the line pressure.
Relief valve: The valve that dumps oil to tank when circuit pressure exceeds the set value. If set too low the attachment cannot reach full load; excess flow also turns into heat here.
Quick coupler (hydraulic): The connector that lets hydraulic hoses be fitted and removed. A half-seated coupler cuts off flow completely while looking connected; the most overlooked fault cause on site.
Viscosity: The resistance of oil to flow. It changes with temperature: thin oil increases internal leakage, thick oil increases flow resistance and heat. Viscosity is chosen to suit working temperature.
Cavitation: Air entering the system on the suction side and forming bubbles in the oil. Recognised by a high-pitched pump noise and foam in the tank; it damages the circuit quickly.
Hose pulsation: The pressure pulsation of each blow reaching the hoses. Some is normal; a marked increase points to the accumulator, the clamping or hose life.
Torque: Turning moment (Nm). For augers it expresses drilling capacity; for tie rods it is the tightening value. Tie rod torque is applied per the manual.

Lubrication(6)

Grease: The thick lubricant that greases the tool and bushing area. Breaker grease is formulated to withstand high temperature and impact; general-purpose grease is inadequate here.
Automatic lubrication: A system that delivers grease automatically at set intervals while the breaker runs. It removes dependence on the operator and largely prevents bushing and seal damage from missed greasing.
Manual greasing: Greasing done by hand with a grease gun. Adequate when done properly, but skipping it is the most common maintenance error in busy shifts. Grease with the tool pressed against the material.
Grease nipple: The fitting through which grease is injected. A blocked or damaged nipple means the grease never arrives; after greasing, check that grease has actually emerged.
Attachment lubrication points: Lubrication points on the moving joints of an attachment: pin bearings, rotating head and jaw pivots. Their number and interval vary by attachment type.
Excavator lubrication: Greasing of boom, arm and bucket pins. It is separate from attachment lubrication and usually done at different intervals; when the two are confused, the attachment side gets neglected.

Machines & Carriers(7)

Carrier: The machine to which the attachment is fitted. The primary criterion in attachment selection is the carrier operating weight; this is a physical limit, not a preference.
Excavator: A tracked or wheeled machine that excavates with a boom-arm-bucket arrangement. The most common carrier for hydraulic attachments.
Mini excavator: A small-tonnage excavator able to work in confined spaces. Paired with small-class breakers and light attachments; common in indoor and renovation work.
Bulldozer: A tracked machine that pushes material with a front blade. With a rear-mounted ripper it is also used to break hard ground; a different arrangement from an excavator ripper.
Backhoe loader: A wheeled machine with a loader bucket at the front and a digging arm at the rear. Widely used with small-class breakers in infrastructure and urban work.
Operating weight: The total weight of the machine or attachment in working condition. Attachment-to-carrier matching is done on this value.
Bracket / adapter: The intermediate element that connects the attachment to the machine boom. Pin diameter and spacing are machine specific; the bracket is made to suit the machine even if the attachment is the same.

Drilling & Boring(6)

Rock drill: A hydraulic unit that drills holes in rock. In blasting, the hole pattern is drilled with these units; excavator-mounted types also exist.
Drill rod: The rod that transmits impact and rotation from the drill unit to the bit. In deep holes rods are coupled together to extend reach.
Drill bit: The hard-metal bit at the end of the rod that breaks the rock. Types include button bits and DTH bits; chosen by rock hardness and hole diameter.
DTH (down-the-hole hammer): A drilling method where the percussion mechanism works at the bottom of the hole, right behind the bit. Preferred in deep holes because energy loss is low.
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD): A method of drilling horizontally with a steerable head without opening the surface. Used to pass pipe and cable under roads, rivers and structures; part of the trenchless technology family.
Trenchless technology: The general name for methods of laying and renewing infrastructure without opening the surface. Preferred in urban areas because it reduces traffic and environmental impact.

Mining & Quarrying(5)

Blasting: Breaking rock with explosives. Not applicable on every site because of permits, safety distances and vibration limits; mechanical excavation takes over in those cases.
Non-blast excavation: Removing rock mechanically with a breaker, ripper or drum cutter. Permitting is simpler and vibration controllable; often the only applicable method near settlements.
Secondary breaking: Reducing the oversized blocks left after blasting to a size that will enter the crusher. Usually done with a breaker and decisive for quarry throughput.
Crusher plant: A fixed or mobile plant that crushes rock into aggregate. Oversized blocks cannot pass the feed opening, which is why secondary breaking is needed.
Slope / bench face: The inclined face of an excavation or quarry bench. Drum cutters and breakers are used together for slope trimming and scaling.

Demolition & Recycling(5)

Selective demolition: Removing specific elements under control without demolishing the whole structure. Applied in restoration, renovation and material separation projects.
Primary demolition: The first stage in which the main mass of the structure is brought down. Breakers and shears are the attachments of this stage; sorting comes later.
Secondary demolition (sorting): The stage where the downed structure is broken up and separated into materials. A pulveriser separates concrete from steel, a crusher bucket turns rubble into aggregate.
On-site recycling: Crushing and reusing demolition rubble on site. Because it directly cuts haulage and disposal cost, it is usually the fastest-returning investment.
Vibration: The shaking an attachment transmits to the ground and surrounding structures. A decisive constraint in work adjacent to existing buildings; attachments using cutting force instead of impact have the advantage.

Site & Site Management(6)

Construction site: The area where work is actually carried out. Machines, attachments, personnel and material flow are managed together here; attachment selection also follows site conditions.
Equipment fleet: The set of machines and attachments a company owns. Standardising attachments (same bracket, same tool diameter) reduces spare part stock and downtime.
Critical spare stock: Parts kept on site so a fault does not stop work: seal kit, retaining pin, tool and common bushings. Parts with long lead times take priority.
Downtime: Time the machine is not working due to fault, maintenance or attachment change. On site cost it is often a bigger item than the price of parts.
Scheduled maintenance: Planned checks and replacements at set operating hours. Cheaper than reacting after a fault; intervals are shortened for intensive use.
Operator training: Teaching correct working technique. The single habit that most extends breaker life is releasing the control the moment the material breaks; it is the first item in training.

Material, Geology & Units(6)

Compressive strength (UCS): The stress a rock withstands under axial compression, expressed in MPa. The most common measure of rock hardness in attachment selection.
Abrasiveness: The tendency of material to wear tools and cutting parts. In highly abrasive material, tool and pick consumption rises markedly regardless of hardness.
Fissure / bedding plane: The naturally weak separation surface in rock. A ripper works by using this plane; without it the ripper cannot grip and a breaker is required.
Aggregate: Crushed stone material used in concrete and road fill. Demolition rubble can be crushed on site and reused as fill aggregate.
Tonne (t): 1000 kilograms. The base unit used in carrier classification and attachment-to-machine matching.
Bar: A unit of pressure. Operating pressure and relief valve settings in a hydraulic circuit are given in bar.

Export & Trade(5)

Incoterms: Standard delivery rules defining where cost and risk pass between buyer and seller in international trade.
FOB (Free On Board): A delivery term where risk passes to the buyer once goods are loaded on board at the port of origin. Freight and insurance belong to the buyer.
CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight): A delivery term where the seller covers freight and insurance to the destination port. The point where risk passes differs from where cost ends.
HS code: The international code by which goods are classified at customs. The correct code directly affects duty and import permits.
Test report: A report documenting that the product was tested at the factory before shipment. For the buyer it is evidence the unit left in working condition.