Draglines are a fairly old type of excavator, still in the age of steam, not long after wire rope excavators were invented. Its characteristics are that the boom is long and there is no stick. The position and inclination of the bucket are controlled by the lifting wire and the pulling wire. The bucket cuts soil by gravity, which is suitable for excavating relatively soft materials below the stop surface.

The basic structural arrangement of the dragline includes crawler chassis, turntable, slewing mechanism, boom, various hoists and buckets, etc. A slewing bearing is installed between the turntable and the chassis. The turntable can rotate 360 degrees left and right. Lifting winches, luffing winches and traction winches are installed on the turntable. When landing, the luffing winch controls the elevation angle of the boom by retracting and unwinding the wire rope, and the traction winch controls the pulling and throwing of the bucket by retracting and unwinding the wire rope. The boom of the dragline consists of a basic boom and an intermediate boom section, and the intermediate boom section can be properly connected according to the needs of the operation.