Bulldozers Parts in Austin - Dozers are similar to a tractor that is outfitted with a dozer blade. Many models are known as crawler tractors, operating on a continuous track instead of using wheels; however, wheeled models are available. The large metal plate attached to the front of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. Alteration projects and construction sites rely on dozer blades to transport gravel, dirt and other materials. The back end of the bulldozer often has giant metal teeth used to break up hardpacked materials.
Specifics
The tracks of a typical bulldozer give it superior traction and maneuvering capabilities on rough, uneven or unstable ground and the specialized transmission system allows the bulldozer to operate with increased tractive force. The track width evenly distributes the weight in unstable applications to prevent the industrial machine from sinking. Swamp tracks refer to tracks that have increased widths, suitable for specific applications. Bulldozers are often utilized in land clearing applications, road construction, mining operations and other jobs that require stable and powerful equipment to transport large volumes of material.
Wheeled system bulldozers feature four wheels that operate with hydraulically powered articulated steering unit. The dozer blade is mounted in front of the articulation joint and is operated on a hydraulic system, rather than mechanical.
What distinguishes the bulldozer from other large, construction equipment are its principal tools: the dozer blade and the ripper.
The Dozer Blade
The dozer blade is a large, metal plate mounted at the front of the bulldozer. Its purpose is to push heavy objects and material. This could be anything from dirt, rubbish, sand, gravel or even snow. Three typical kinds of dozer blade options are available including the semi-U blade, the universal blade and the straight blade.
The U blade, aka the universal blade, is curved and tall with sizeable wings on the sides to enable more material to be easily transported. The straight or S blade is much shorter than the U blade and has no wings on the side or lateral curve, making it ideal for earth grading jobs. The SU or semi-U blade combines a shorter blade with slight side wings and less curve compared to the U blade. This blade is commonly used to move large rock and boulder piles.
A dozer blade is fitted either horizontally to the tractor or at an angle. The angle of the dozer blade can be adjusted with tilt cylinders. Sharpened dozer blades may be utilized for cutting items including tree roots and stumps. 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. It is common to see an angledozer in action on highways and roads during winter snow removal.
A variety of bulldozers are equipped with a bull blade. The reinforced centre portion of the bulldozer is called a bull blade. This allows a bulldozer to push a scraper, which is another large, heavy piece of equipment used to move earth.
Military vehicles also utilize dozer blades. 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. When mounted to a battle tank, the dozer blade allows the tank to push obstacles and mines and to dig shelters or create combat positions. The dozer blade can help create protective barriers against explosives and artillery.
The Dozer Ripper
A dozer ripper is the long, tooth-like tool, known as the shank, on the back of a bulldozer. Dozer rippers come in a large, single shank design or with groups of two or more shanks. The single shank design is also known as a giant ripper and is preferred for large, very dense projects. The multi-shank designs are referred to simply as multi-shank rippers.
The shank’s tip, called the boot, is a metal, detachable piece. This design allows the boot to be replaced instead of the entire shank whenever it becomes broken or dull.
The dozer ripper is used to break up rock, concrete, earth or other solid objects and material into smaller pieces which are then easier for the bulldozer to move using the dozer blade. This combination enables projects to be completed faster.
In agricultural applications, the dozer ripper is used to break up the ground and rocks for planting and plowing. In certain locations in New Zealand and Italy, the dozer ripper helps to access ancient lava flows that are rich in nutrients and normally would not be able to be farmed due to the density of the ground. The ripper loosens the top lava rock layer to initiate farming applications.
Bulldozer Adaptations
Adaptations to the bulldozer over the years have enabled it to become useful for numerous applications.
The initial bulldozer design was too big to work in confined locations such as mines. These limitations led to more compact bulldozer designs and models. Very small, light bulldozers are sometimes referred to as calfdozers.
A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations.
More common bulldozer adaptations resulted in the loader tractor. This machine was born by changing the dozer blade with a large bucket and using hydraulic arms to raise and lower it. 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. This attaches to the rear of the bulldozer. 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. A brush-rake blade is also commonly used with the bulldozer in these situations.
Even with numerous bulldozer adaptations on the market, the original form of the machine is still popular in road carving, ground leveling, earthmoving and deforestation projects. Large bulldozers are mainly used to flatten terrain for construction preparation. However, the construction itself is mainly done by small bulldozers and loader tractors.
Origins
The initial bulldozer design was created when a draftsman, J. Earl McLeod teamed up with a farmer named James Cummings in 1923. The dozer blade was the initial design they created and was built to be attached to an existing tractor in order to plow fields. They built the original bulldozer and it can be viewed in Kansas’ city park, Morrowville. Later that year, Cummings and McLeod filed for a US patent on their bulldozer attachment which was granted in January 1925. It was normal for tractors to run on a track system at this time. The creation of the armored tank in World War I was largely due in part to this early version of the super maneuverable tractor.
By 1929, home-made or custom-manufactured attachments began to appear on wheeled and tracked tractors alike. The bulldozer attachment did not gain popularity until the middle of the 1930s. Hydraulic cylinders were introduced before 1940 and the term bulldozer referred to the whole machine who’s popularity greatly expanded by the 1950s.
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. More effective and accurate control systems were introduced thanks to these upgrades. Upgrades with GPS technology have been added to enhance bulldozing tasks with improved grade control.
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.
