Plain explanations of each machine family — key components, the actual working cycle, verified operating envelope and common misconceptions. Every description below corresponds to WanRun-built equipment; where a condition has not been verified for your site, it is marked for engineering review.
Rotating toothed head at the ladder toe that breaks up soil before it reaches the suction mouth.
Steel frame lowered to the dredging depth; carries the suction opening directly behind the cutter.
Mixes soil with water into slurry and sends it into the discharge line. Pump power sets the transport range.
Steel poles lowered ahead / behind the hull to hold the swing position and step the hull forward.
Stern flange joining floating or onshore pipeline toward the placement area.
Ladder is lowered; the cutter head rotates against the soil face and loosens material at the dredging depth.
Water injected around the suction mouth mixes the loosened soil into slurry, drawn into the dredge pump.
The pump sends slurry through the floating pipeline to the onshore discharge or placement site.
Spuds hold the hull while the winches swing the ladder in an arc; the machine steps forward and repeats.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Soft silt, clay and loose sand in sheltered rivers / lakes | Verified | Standard duty for this family. |
| Weathered / medium-hard soil with cutter tooth upgrade | Engineering review Tooth pattern and cutter power must be matched to soil test data. | Send soil samples or borehole data first. |
| Discharge distance beyond pump range | Engineering review | Boost pump stations on the pipeline line are configured per project. |
| Open-sea / exposed coastal work | Not in current configuration | Hull class and pipeline system on this page are for inland and sheltered water. |
Cutter power, tooth type and pump capacity define the material range. Hard rock, large boulders and heavy debris are outside standard configurations.
Rated dredging depth assumes the ladder travel, water level swing and pipeline layout of a planned site. Tide and seasonal level changes must be included in the review.
Jet-assisted head dragged along the surface layer; loosens sand as the vessel moves at working speed.
Carries slurry into the hopper; overflow returns clarified water at the waterline instead of the full volume.
Stores the loaded material; doors release it at the designated placement area or the hopper is pumped out at shore.
Vessel sails at low speed with the head trailing; jets fluidise the top sand layer into the suction line.
Slurry fills the hopper while overflow water returns to the sea, reducing the volume carried.
Loaded vessel sails to the placement area. Unloading uses bottom doors at the dump site or shore-side pumpout.
Cycle repeats along the working face; production is per round trip, not continuous pipeline flow.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Loose sand, shallow cover, sheltered water | Verified | Best fit for top-layer sand removal. |
| Layered deposits with clay bands | Engineering review | Trailing heads act on exposed surfaces; buried layers need a different family. |
| Self-propelled ocean voyaging / discharge at open dump sites | Not in current configuration | WanRun units follow inland / coastal-sheltered arrangements, not reference ocean-going vessels. |
Collection depends on vessel movement over exposed sand. It is not designed for cutting into a fixed soil face.
Output is counted per round trip including sailing and discharge time. Distance to the placement area changes the real rate.
Ring of buckets with teeth, turning against the face; each bucket lifts a fixed volume per revolution.
Sets the working angle and depth; travel winches swing the wheel along the face.
Receives scooped material; screens separate oversize before discharge on many configurations.
Belt, chute or pump arrangement placing material to barge, conveyor or stockpile.
Wheel is pressed against the exposed sand or gravel face at the working depth.
Rotating buckets lift material steadily — the flow rate is set by wheel speed, not by pump pressure.
Material passes onboard screening; oversize is rejected or re-crushed depending on configuration.
Sized product goes to conveyor, stockpile or barge alongside.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated sand / gravel with exposed face | Verified | Core duty; continuous production with stable sizing. |
| Soft silt in deep basins | Engineering review | Wheel machines prefer firm faces; very soft material may suit suction families better. |
| Rock excavation | Not in current configuration | Bucket wheels break material, not excavate rock. |
Endless chain of buckets running over the ladder; the toe teeth bite into the face as the chain turns.
Sets and holds the dredge line depth; the ladder angle defines the cut.
Buckets tip at the top; material flows over the spillway to barge or shore handling.
Chain turns against the ladder toe; bucket teeth cut into the deposit at the set depth.
Buckets carry material up the ladder in a fixed volume per bucket — production scales with chain speed.
At the head, buckets invert and dump into the spillway.
Winches advance the hull along anchors; the ladder sweeps the face and deepens the cut in passes.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Layered sand / gravel, firm deposits | Verified | Defined cut line, tolerant of coarse fractions. |
| Very soft loose silt | Engineering review | Buckets spill on fluid material; suction types usually win on soft silt. |
| Confined shallow canals | Not in current configuration | Ladder length and anchor handling need open water. |
Wheel: continuous ring on a boom, best on exposed faces. Chain: endless ladder, best on layered firm deposits. They are separate machines with separate duty ranges.
Fill factor, spillage and pass planning reduce the practical rate. Use delivered project data, not theoretical volume.
An excavator upper and boom mounted on a long pontoon undercarriage. Ground pressure is spread over the pontoon footprint, letting it stand and travel in shallow wetlands, marshes and drained pond bottoms. It digs with the bucket like a normal excavator, walks on its pontoons, and can paddle short distances in open water. It is not a continuous dredging pump — material handling is by bucket and swing.
A buoyant pontoon carrying a dredge pump and suction lance, positioned by spud poles and winches that step it across the bottom. It moves slurry continuously through discharge pipe instead of bucket cycles. Suited to pond and lagoon desilting where depth is too shallow for large hulls but the material must be pumped to shore.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shallow wetland / pond-bottom working (both machines) | Verified | Core design duty. |
| Open water with waves and current | Engineering review | Pontoon stability limits depend on size and ballast. |
| Fully submerged long-distance swimming | Not in current configuration | These are ground-bearing machines with limited paddling ability. |
Front rotary / reciprocating bar that slices vegetation at or below the water line as the machine advances.
Lightweight amphibious undercarriage: low ground pressure on mud, self-propelled in shallow water.
Propulsion through water and over soft ground; operator station with visibility on the cut line.
Machine walks or paddles into the vegetated area at working draft.
The header slices stems at the set height while the crawler advances steadily.
Cut material floats or settles per species; removal onshore or by separate collection is planned with the project.
Parallel passes cover the block; overlap set by species and regrowth plan.
| Condition | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Shallow (≥0.3 m) soft-bottom canals, ponds with hyacinth / reed / grass | Verified | Design duty of the aluminium crawler platform. |
| Root-zone cutting depth and species mix | Engineering review | Header setup is confirmed against your vegetation survey. |
| Integrated collection, shredding and on-board storage of cut material | Not in current configuration | Not shown as standard; separate equipment or onshore handling assumed unless quoted. |