New brush cutters and mulchers expand John Deere excavator attachment family

John Deere has added to its attachment family for excavators with the ME36 and ME50 Mulchers, and the RE40 and RE50 Rotary Brush Cutters.

The ME36 and ME50 mulchers are equipped with knife-style cutting teeth on a split ring rotor. The spiral, double helix tool pattern and innovative tool shape allow for fast, efficient cutting for mulch up to 5-inch material. A controlled and metered cutting depth allows the operator to maintain high rotor revolutions per minute (RPM) and a productive mulching rate. The teeth may be sharpened and easily flipped for a fresh cutting edge, extending the tool’s life. The mulcher attachments are ideal for right-of-way maintenance and fire/fuel reduction, clearing standing or felled trees and brush along fencerows, roadsides, waterways, and other hard-to-reach places.

The RE40 and RE50 brush cutters bring more versatility for excavators. These brush cutters are ideal for embankment and ditch management, over-fence brush management, rail right-of-way maintenance, and otherwise difficult to reach areas. Three swinging blades mounted to a blade carrier can fell and cut material up to 6 inches in diameter. A heavy-duty hinged debris shield retracts when the head is engaged with trees and brush, exposing the blades, and allowing for aggressive cuts.

The RE40 and RE50 brush cutters directionally beveled blades push material into the head of the cutter, creating fine debris for recycling. The blades are also reversible, so when the leading-edge wears, they can be unbolted and flipped over for a fresh cutting edge. An automatic hydraulic braking system quickly stops the blade rotation after the machine is turned off, so operators can exit the cab.

Equipped with a bolt-on mounting system, the RE cutters offer flexible configuration to a variety of coupling systems. If coupling requirements change, units can be quickly and easily reconfigured.

“Both attachment lines offer customers a means to step into the growing vegetation management segment of machine use,” said Jason Simmons, Project Manager of Global Attachments at John Deere Construction and Forestry Division. The features of the mulchers and cutters deliver value to customers so they can achieve high productivity, uptime and low operating costs. These attachments are tested in the toughest applications, ensuring they will get the job done and are durable enough to last.

The attachments are tested and optimized to work with John Deere excavators, but the mulchers are also compatible with many competitive 5-10 ton excavator models, and the brush cutters are also compatible with many competitive 3-10 ton excavator models.