CUTTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING

A cutting apparatus (100) suitable for creating tunnels or subterranean roadways and the like comprising: a main frame (102) having generally upward (300), downward (301) and side (302) facing regions; at least one arm (121) pivotally mounted via an arm pivot axis (401) aligned in a direction extending transverse including perpendicular to a generally upright direction relative to the upward (300) and downward (301) facing regions to enable the arm (121) to pivot relative to the main frame (102) in an upward and downward direction relative to the upward (300) and downward (301) facing regions; at least one arm actuator (122, 130) to actuate pivoting movement of the arm (121) relative to the main frame (102), a rotatable cutting head (128) mounted at the arm (121) rotatable about a head axis (402) orientated to extend substantially transverse to the arm pivot axis (401), a pair of crawler tracks (103) or a set of wheels allowing a forward and rearward movement of the cutting apparatus (100) over ground, and a set of floor engaging members (106, 115) mounted at the main frame (102), wherein the floor engaging members (106, 115) are extendable to provide a cutting mode of the cutting apparatus (100), in which the cutting apparatus (100) rests on the floor engaging members (106, 115), and are retractable to provide a non-cutting mode of the cutting apparatus (100), in which the cutting apparatus (100) rests on the pair of crawler tracks (103) or set of wheels, wherein the pair of crawler tracks (103) or the set of wheels define a plane inclined relative to the main frame such that upon changing from the cutting mode to the non-cutting mode the cutting head (128) is raised away from the ground. Appareil de coupe (100) approprié pour créer des tunnels et des routes souterraines ou similaires comprenant : un châssis principal (102) possédant en règle générale des régions tournées vers le haut (300), vers le bas (301) et vers le côté (302); au moins un bras (121) monté pivotant au moyen d'un axe de pivot de bras (401) aligné dans une direction allant transversalement, y compris perpendiculaire à une direction généralement verticale par rapport aux régions orientées vers le haut (300) et vers le bas(301) de manière à permettre au bras (121) de pivoter par rapport au châssis principal (102) vers le haut et vers le base par rapport aux régions orientées vers le haut (300) et vers le bas(301); au moins un actionneur de bras (122, 130) pour actionner le mouvement de pi