The YG excavator clamshell bucket is a professional hydraulic attachment perfectly compatible with all brands of excavators ranging from 7 to 35 tons. Unlike standard single-sided digging buckets, it features a symmetrical double-shell structure driven by built-in heavy-duty hydraulic cylinders, which open and close like clamshells to grab, lift, and unload bulk materials vertically. It is specially designed for port loading, river dredging, municipal trench digging, scrap metal sorting, coal and grain handling, landfill waste cleaning, and other complex working scenarios. YG optimizes the hinge structure, hydraulic sealing system, and wear-resistant plate, solving common pain points such as weak clamping force, easy material leakage, and rapid shell abrasion of ordinary clamshell grabs. Whether for inland construction sites or coastal dock operations, this attachment greatly improves loading efficiency and cuts manual labor input. If you are interested, please contact YG immediately for more information.
Parameters of the Clamshell Bucket for Excavator
| Model | YGCS04 | YGCS06 | YGCS08 | YGCS10 |
| Suitable Excavator | 7-11T | 12-18T | 18-25T | 26-35T |
| Weight | 800kg | 1200kg | 2000kg | 2300kg |
| Opening | 1000mm | 1500mm | 2200mm | 2300mm |
| Working Pressure | 180bar | 210bar | 250bar | 250bar |
| Set Up Pressure | 250bar | 290bar | 320bar | 340bar |
| Working Flow | 190 lpm | 210 lpm | 220 lpm | 240 lpm |
Complete Working Flow
- Pre-installation Connection: Fix the top hanging bracket of the YG excavator clamshell bucket to the excavator stick, connect the independent hydraulic oil pipeline of the bucket to the auxiliary hydraulic circuit of the main machine, and test the oil circuit sealing to eliminate oil leakage risk.
- Open the Shell for Positioning: The operator controls the hydraulic valve of the excavator; the hydraulic cylinder retracts to push the two bucket shells fully open, then moves the excavator arm to lower the open bucket into the material pile, river silt, or deep trench bottom.
- Hydraulic Clamping & Material Sealing: Reverse the hydraulic oil supply; the cylinder stretches out to drive the two shells to close tightly. The high clamping force squeezes loose materials to avoid gaps, preventing sand, coal powder, and small scrap metal from leaking during lifting.
- Lifting & Rotation Adjustment: Lift the full bucket vertically. If equipped with a 360° rotating function, the operator can rotate the bucket left and right freely without moving the whole excavator, aligning with trucks, barges or storage bins accurately in narrow spaces.
- Transport & Stable Suspension: Keep the bucket closed tightly during horizontal movement; the reinforced hinge pin bears full load to prevent sudden shell opening caused by bumping.
- Unloading Operation: Move the bucket above the target unloading area, control the hydraulic cylinder to retract, the two shells separate automatically, and all materials fall completely without residual adhesion on the inner smooth steel plate.
- Cycle Repeat: After emptying the bucket, reposition to the material pile and repeat the whole grabbing cycle continuously for batch loading work.
7 Core Outstanding Features of Excavator Clamshell Bucket
1. Powerful Double Hydraulic Cylinder Clamping System
YG hydraulic clamshell bucket for excavator adopts double large-bore high-pressure hydraulic cylinders as a power source. Each cylinder is equipped with built-in buffer valves to avoid impact when fully closed. It can firmly grip wet silt, sharp scrap steel, and dense gravel without material leakage. Ordinary single-cylinder clamshell buckets have uneven force and loose closure, while our dual-cylinder design balances pressure on both shells, greatly improving grabbing stability.
2. Ultra-Wear Resistant Reinforced Shell Structure
The inner and outer plates of the bucket shell use NM450 high wear-resistant steel, and the cutting edge is welded with thick manganese steel wear strips. The hinge pin is made of 42CrMo alloy steel after quenching and tempering treatment. Even with long-term contact with abrasive materials such as rock fragments, coal cinder, and rusted metal scraps, the shell deformation and abrasion speed are reduced by 65%.
3. Fully Sealed Anti-Leakage Hydraulic Assembly
All hydraulic cylinder joints and oil pipe connectors adopt imported high-temperature-resistant fluorine rubber sealing rings. The oil circuit layout is hidden inside the bucket bracket, avoiding scratches and aging caused by material friction. It can work continuously under water or rainy dredging conditions for a long time without hydraulic oil leakage, reducing daily maintenance frequency and oil consumption cost.
4. Multi-Scenario Customizable Capacity & Shell Shape
We customize bucket volume and shell types according to customer materials: smooth curved shells for silt, grain, and fine sand to reduce adhesion; toothed thickened shells for scrap metal and construction waste to improve grabbing penetration; narrow long shells for deep river channel dredging; wide flat shells for port bulk cargo loading.
5. Low Material Residue Smooth Inner Liner
The inner wall of the bucket adopts an arc streamline design without dead corners. After grabbing wet mud, sticky coal ash, or wet sand, materials slide down completely during unloading; no thick residue sticks to the shell inner wall. Compared with flat inner ordinary clamshell grabs, it reduces residual material weight by 8–12% per grab, improving single-cycle loading volume.
6. Heavy-Duty Integrated Hanging Bracket
The top connecting bracket is integrally cast with thick steel plates, eliminating the hidden danger. Standard pin hole sizes fit universal quick couplers; customers can switch between a standard digging bucket and a YG excavator clamshell bucket within 5 minutes without extra transformation of the excavator arm.
7. Low Noise & Stable Hydraulic Operation
The hydraulic cylinder internal buffer structure eliminates hard collision noise when opening and closing shells, and working noise is controlled below 75dB, complying with European urban construction noise limits. The hydraulic system runs smoothly without jitter, effectively reducing the fatigue loss of the excavator’s auxiliary hydraulic pump.
Authentic Customer Feedback about YG Excavator Clamshell Bucket
Feedback 1 Port Logistics Contractor, Netherlands
We purchased two sets of YG excavator clamshell buckets for our inland river cargo dock, mainly used for unloading grain, sand, and small coal barges. Our old mechanical cable clamshell grab often spilled materials and needed 3 workers to clean the dock every day. After switching to a YG hydraulic clamshell bucket for an excavator, the dual-cylinder tight clamping design almost eliminates material leakage, and daily cleaning labor is cut off completely. Single barge unloading time shortened from 9 hours to 5 hours (44% efficiency improvement). The wear steel plate still has no obvious abrasion after 10 months of continuous daily 10-hour operation. We will order one larger bucket for our new seaport branch.
Feedback 2 Municipal Dredging Company, Spain
Our team undertakes urban river silt cleaning projects across Madrid and purchased one non-rotating YG clamshell bucket for an excavator. Local river mud contains a lot of broken bricks and gravel; previous imported clamshell buckets’ hinge pins wore out every 1 month, and hydraulic oil leaked frequently. YG’s alloy hinge pin and full sealing hydraulic system solved both problems perfectly; we only need to add lubricant every 2 weeks now. Single grabbing silt volume increased by 30%, each river dredging project delivery period shortened by 4 days, monthly maintenance spare parts cost reduced by 1,100 EUR. The technical team sent Spanish operation videos and remote guidance during installation; the product quality is fully worthy of recommendation.
Feedback 3 Scrap Metal Recycling Plant, Poland
We run a large scrap sorting yard and bought three YG excavator clamshell buckets with tooth shell design for grabbing waste steel, aluminum cans, and metal fragments. Ordinary grabs cannot clamp irregular, sharp metal firmly, easy to dropping pieces during lifting. YG thick-toothed shells bite scrap tightly with zero falling risk, and the wear-resistant plate resists scratches from sharp metal edges well. Our daily scrap handling capacity rose from 120 tons to 195 tons, laborers for manual metal picking reduced from 6 people to 2, and monthly labor expenditure was saved by 3,700 PLN. The hydraulic system works stably in cold winter temperatures down to -12℃ without oil viscosity blockage.
Feedback 4 Landfill Environmental Enterprise, Australia
Our waste landfill company ordered two hydraulic clamshell buckets for excavators to sort domestic garbage and cover soil. Narrow landfill passage limits excavator movement. Smooth inner shell avoids sticky domestic waste residue; unloading is clean without manual scraping. Compared with our old attachment, daily landfill treatment speeds up by 52%; each monthly project can finish 2 more landfill zones ahead of schedule. Global spare parts delivery only takes 10 days to Australia; after-sales response speed satisfies our whole team greatly.
Choose YG Excavator Clamshell Bucket-Factory Direct Sales
YG excavator clamshell bucket covering port logistics, river dredging, scrap recycling, municipal engineering, and landfill treatment are all mainstream bulk material handling scenarios. The standardized working flow ensures smooth grabbing, lifting, and unloading cycles. YG supports full customization of bucket capacity, rotation function, and shell style matching all tonnage excavators, and provides multilingual operation guidance and global fast spare parts supply for overseas buyers.
If you are looking for a durable, high-efficiency YG excavator clamshell bucket or want to inquire about the quotation of a hydraulic clamshell bucket for an excavator, contact the YG international sales team at once. We will provide targeted attachment solutions according to your excavator model, material type, and daily workload, helping you maximize construction profit.
