Bulldozers Parts in Louisiana - A popular type of industrial equipment is a bulldozer. Crawler tractors run on continuous track as opposed to relying on wheels, although, wheeled versions are also on the market. The dozer blade is a large metal plate fixed to the front of the bulldozer. The dozer blade is used to push large volumes of material, such gravel or dirt, during construction and alteration projects. The back of the bulldozer is usually fitted with large, metal teeth, called the ripper, useful in breaking up hard, compressed material.
Specifics
The track system on a common bulldozer offers phenomenal maneuvering abilities and excellent traction on uneven ground and unstable or rough surfaces. The special transmission components let the machine function with increased traction. Sinking into unstable environments is prevented as the track width evenly distributes the weight of the machine. Swamp tracks refer to tracks that have increased widths, suitable for specific applications. These capabilities make bulldozers very popular for use in road construction, clearing land, mining and many other jobs needing powerful but stable equipment to move material.
The dozers that rely on a wheeled system typically consist of four wheels that use a 4WD system combined with an articulated hydraulic steering mechanism. Mounted directly in front of the articulation joint, the bulldozer blade uses a hydraulic system for operating instead of a mechanical setup.
The bulldozer is easily recognized from other types of industrial equipment thanks to its main components, the ripper and the dozer blade.
The Dozer Blade
The bulldozer blade consists of a sizeable metal plate that is situated at the front of the machine. The purpose of the dozer blade is to push heavy items and awkward materials. Snow, gravel, sand, dirt and garbage are some of the most popular items that bulldozers push around. There are typically three types of dozer blades available. They are:
1. the universal blade;
2. the straight blade; and
3. the semi-U blade.
The universal blade, or U blade is tall, curved and has large wings on the side used to carry extra material. The straight blade, or S blade, is short, has no lateral curve and no side wings and is also used for fine earth grading. The semi-U blade, or S-U blade, is a combination blade which is shorter, is less curved and has side wings, but which are smaller than those on the U blade. This blade is commonly used to move large rock and boulder piles.
Usually, the dozer blade attaches to the tractor on an angle or in a horizontal fashion. Tilt cylinders can adjust the dozer blade angle. Dozer blades can be sharpened to enable cutting items including tree stumps and roots. An angledozer features a blade that is pushed ahead on one side to enable items to be cleared out of the path of the bulldozer. The angledozer is commonly used for snow removal on roads and highways.
Many bulldozers come equipped with a bull blade. A bull blade is a reinforced centre section of the bulldozer. The bull blade enables the dozer to push a scraper to move large portions of earth.
Dozer blades are also used on military vehicles. Several military vehicles are designed to allow a dozer blade to be affixed to the front of the vehicle, such as combat engineering vehicles, artillery tractors and battle tanks. The dozer blade helps the battle tank maneuver items and mines to create combat positions or dig shelters. The dozer blade can help create protective barriers against explosives and artillery.
The Dozer Ripper
The shank or dozer ripper is the substantial tool situated on the bulldozers’ back with long teeth. There are single shank options on dozer rippers or groups with two or more shanks available depending on the application required. The giant ripper design or large single shank is commonly used for large and compact applications. The multi-shank options are called multi-shank rippers.
The shank’s tip, called the boot, is a metal, detachable piece. This enables the boot to be easily replaced when it becomes broken or worn down instead of having to completely change the shank.
Solid objects including compact earth, concrete or rock can be broken up into tinier pieces thanks to the dozer ripper, creating material that is easier to transport by the dozer. One machine that completes multiple tasks creates faster project completion on the job site.
In farming, a dozer ripper is used to break up rock and very dense earth to allow for ploughing and planting. Locations across Italy and New Zealand rely on dozer rippers to access nutrient-rich ancient lava flows that wouldn’t be farmable otherwise due to their dense nature. The top layer of lava rock is loosened up with the ripper to create farmable land.
Bulldozer Adaptations
The bulldozer has transformed over the years to become useful for a variety of applications that were not originally possible with the initial design.
For example, the original bulldozer was too large for work in small areas, such as mines. This limitation lead to the creation of a smaller bulldozer design which allowed for maneuvering in tight spaces. Calfdozers refer to small, lighter bulldozer models.
A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations.
Another adaptation resulted in the popular loader tractor. This was created by replacing the dozer blade with a large bucket, raised and lowered with the use of hydraulic arms. This adapted bulldozer model is referred to as a track loader, trackscavator or Drott to load gravel, earth and rocks into dump trucks.
A lesser-known bulldozer attachment is called the stump buster. The stump buster attachment is secured to the rear portion of the dozer. It consists of a single spike that protrudes horizontally to split tree stumps up for easier removal. Stump busters are commonly used by bulldozers to clear land. In those circumstances, the bulldozer also has a brush-rake blade.
Despite the many adaptations available, bulldozers in their original form remain popular in deforestation, earthmoving, ground levelling, and road carving. Heavy bulldozers are primarily used to level terrain in preparation for construction. Construction aspects are mainly completed by loader tractors and small bulldozer models.
Origins
The initial bulldozer design was created when a draftsman, J. Earl McLeod teamed up with a farmer named James Cummings in 1923. The initial design created was the dozer blade made to plow fields by attaching to an existing tractor. They soon built the first bulldozer and their original prototype can be viewed in Morrowville, Kansas’ city park. The team filed for a US patent on their bulldozer attachment later that year and a patent was granted in January 1925. At the time, it was common for tractors to run on a track system. The creation of the armored tank in World War I was largely due in part to this early version of the super maneuverable tractor.
A variety of custom and homemade attachments started to appear in 1929 on tracked and wheeled tractors. During the mid-‘30s, the bulldozer attachment started to gain popularity. Once hydraulic cylinders were added, sometime before 1940, bulldozers began to grow in popularity and by the 1950s, the term bulldozer referred to the entire machine.
Becoming popular for all types of construction applications, bulldozers grew into a variety of different stronger and larger models. Eventually, many companies such as John Deere and Caterpillar began to manufactured large tracked and wheeled bulldozers. Electric motors and hydraulic cylinders replaced initial cable winch mechanisms and automatic transmissions replaced manual transmission systems. These upgrades allowed for more accurate and effective control systems. Nowadays, GPS technology has been added to improve grade control and enhance bulldozing tasks.
What started out as a tractor attachment for use in farming has not only become one of the most important machines in today’s civil engineering, it has become an important tool in military operations, mining and building and maintaining the vast infrastructures we rely on every day.
