Bucket (machine part)

A bucket in this sense is a specialized container fitted to a machine, as opposed to a bucket made for a person to carry by hand. It is a bulk material handling component, and a shallower design is sometimes called a scoop. The bucket has an inner volume, which sets it apart from other machine attachments such as blades or shovels. It can hang from the lifting hook of a crane, sit at the end of the arm of an excavating machine, hang from the wires of a dragline excavator, be fitted to the arms of a power shovel or to a tractor with a backhoe loader, or be mounted on a loader or a dredge. The name may have been taken from the buckets used on water wheels and water turbines, which look similar.