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The basics behind most hydraulic breakers haven't changed all that dramatically in recent years. "All in all, a hammer is designed to break," says Shane Meisel, product manager for mounted impacts, Stanley Hydraulics. "The goal is to maximize the efficiency of the hammer, in terms of getting as much impact energy as you can into the tool to get the most energy into what you're trying to break. It's about the laws of physics and transferring energy. Most breakers have gotten to the point where they're about as efficient as they're going to be."

Consequently, advances in design are more about fine-tuning breakers and incorporating features to minimize the effects of operation on the operator, carrier and attachment. Automatic power adjustment, automatic lubrication and noise suppression are some more notable features found on today's models.

Additional changes relate to the growing use of hammers on smaller carriers such as compact excavators and skid-steer loaders.

"The compact carrier segment has significantly changed the hammer attachment market," says Greg Smith, Allied Construction Products, LLC. "Everything from demolition to highway bridge widening is increasing, and this work requires more compact carriers with hydraulic breaker attachments. The introduction of additional models, different sizes and more powerful compact carriers has meant that the hammer manufacturers must develop more hammer models. It is not a 'one size fits all' type of business."

Keeping it quiet
Noise levels are a growing concern for the construction industry. Some communities have actually implemented policies restricting the amount of noise permitted during certain hours of operation.