Mastenbroek's 70/80 utilises a vertical digging mechanism powered by a Hägglunds hydrostatic drive motor. Its vertical sliding mast automatically controls the trench depth and grade.

The Hägglunds hydrostatic drive motor was first used in rock and sub-sea trenchers and was incorporated into Mastenbroek's deep trenchers in 2010.

Its digging chain has step-less adjustable speed to cut through various soil conditions. A 9' (2.7 meter) hydraulic cylinder extension in the digging boom, combined with the 11-foot (3.4m) vertical mast movement, enables the trench depth to be adjustable from a minimum of 4' 6" (1.4m) to a maximum of 23 feet (7.0m).

When operating, the digging mechanism must be vertical. Any movement, fore or aft, left or right, can place immense pressure on the mechanism and lead to catastrophic failure. Mastenbroek has overcome this by developing hydraulic cylinders to create a gimble to ensure the digging mechanism remains vertical. The verticality of the trenching mechanism is automatically maintained according to machine pitch and roll with a side tilt correction of 10 degrees each side of vertical. The entire trenching mechanism will slew 12 degrees each side of centre to allow curved trenching and to enable the machine to reach dewatering pumps outside the working strip.

As well as the gimble, Mastenbroek has also refined the accuracy of its 70/80 machine. The use of lasers to control and maintain the correct trench depth and gradient in undulating topography has been deployed for some time. In the last five years, though, GPS has been pioneered in dewatering, providing more flexibility with machine control and survey and design.

For working in confined areas, Mastenbroek has given the operator the ability to retract the cabin, undercarriage and pipe reels, and the 70/80's heavy-duty, oscillating undercarriage provides excellent traction on undulating surfaces and low ground bearing pressure soils.