根据传动系统的原理强夯机分为机械式和液压式2类。早期的强夯机大都属于机械式的，由于采用机械传动，使得设备体积庞大、自重大，夯能级别不高，自动控制水平不高，操作不方便，工作效率比较低。但也有一些优点，比如主卷扬采用机械传动，就比用液压马达驱动的功率损失小，同时机械式维修方便，使用成本较低、经久耐用。
According to the principle of transmission system, dynamic compactor can be divided into mechanical type and hydraulic type. Early dynamic compactors mostly belong to mechanical type. Because of mechanical transmission, the equipment is huge, self-weight, the level of ramming energy is not high, the level of automatic control is not high, the operation is inconvenient, and the work efficiency is relatively low. But there are also some advantages, such as the main hoist using mechanical transmission, less power loss than using hydraulic motor drive, while mechanical maintenance is convenient, low cost, durable.
近期研发出的新型强夯机大都采用全液压驱动形式。采用液压传动形式，整机外形尺寸减小，自重大幅减少，接地比压变小，通过性增强；通过液压节能技术，可显著降低发动机的燃油消耗。同时液压控制操纵轻便、灵活、高效，可方便地与电气控制系统结合，提高整机的自动控制水平。
Most of the newly developed dynamic compactors are driven by full hydraulic pressure. With hydraulic transmission, the size of the whole machine is reduced, the self-weight is greatly reduced, the grounding specific pressure is reduced, and the throughput is enhanced. Through hydraulic energy-saving technology, the fuel consumption of the engine can be significantly reduced. At the same time, the hydraulic control is light, flexible and efficient, which can be easily combined with the electrical control system to improve the automatic control level of the whole machine.