Bulldozers Parts Michigan - A popular type of industrial equipment is a bulldozer. They are most often crawler tractors - that is, they operate on a continuous track, rather than wheels - although they can be wheeled tractors. The dozer blade attaches to the front of the bulldozer to push materials easily and efficiently. Alteration projects and construction sites rely on dozer blades to transport gravel, dirt and other materials. 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. On unstable ground, the width of the tracks distribute the vehicle’s weight, preventing the heavy machine from sinking. Tracks are also available in increased widths, known as swamp tracks. Dozers are popular within mining applications, land clearing and construction jobs that need strong and stable equipment to transport materials within a variety of environments.
Bulldozers operating on a wheeled system usually have four wheels, moved along by a 4-wheel-drive system and a hydraulic, articulated steering system. The bulldozer blade relies on a hydraulic system for operation instead of a mechanical system and is located in front of the articulation joint.
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 dozer blade is a large, metal plate mounted at the front of the bulldozer. Its purpose is to push heavy objects and material. 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 S blade aka the straight blade features zero side wings or lateral curve and is used for fine earth grading applications. The semi-U or SU blade features a shorter, slightly less curved blade with size wings that are smaller than those on the U blade. It is generally used for pushing boulders or large rock 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. The dozer blade is sometimes sharpened to allow for cutting of objects, such as stumps or roots. The blade on an angledozer is pushed forward on one side to allow material to be pushed out of the dozer’s path. It is common to see an angledozer in action on highways and roads during winter snow removal.
A bull blade is a common bulldozer attachment. The bull blade refers to a reinforced middle section of the bulldozer. This feature allows the machine to push another heavy piece of equipment known as a scraper for earthmoving applications.
Dozer blades are also used on military vehicles. Many different military vehicles including artillery tractors, combat engineering vehicles and battle tanks utilize dozer blades. The dozer blade helps the battle tank maneuver items and mines to create combat positions or dig shelters. It can help establish a protective barrier against obstacles, artillery and explosive items, making it a valuable machine for military applications.
The Dozer Ripper
A dozer ripper is the long, tooth-like tool, known as the shank, on the back of a bulldozer. There are single shank options on dozer rippers or groups with two or more shanks available depending on the application required. The single shank design is also known as a giant ripper and is preferred for large, very dense projects. Multi-shank rippers refer to multi-shank designs.
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. In some areas of Italy and New Zealand, for example, this is especially useful as the nutrient-rich, old lava flows would otherwise not be farmable given their denseness. 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.
For example, the original bulldozer was too large for work in small areas, such as mines. These size limitations lead to smaller unit designs to enable more maneuverability in tighter locations. Smaller, light bulldozer models are commonly called calfdozers.
In snow areas, such as ski hills, a lighter version of the bulldozer is used for snow removal and preparing areas for winter sports.
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 bulldoze is now often referred to as a Drott, trackscavator or track loader and frequently used in loading rocks, gravel and earth into dump trucks.
A stump buster is one of the less common bulldozer attachments. This attaches to the rear of the bulldozer. It is a single spike, protruding horizontally, used to split tree stumps for removal. These attachments are often used for land clearing applications. In those circumstances, the bulldozer also has a brush-rake blade.
The original bulldozer design is used ground leveling, road carving, deforestation and earthmoving applications. Heavy bulldozers are primarily used to level terrain in preparation for construction. The construction is completed mostly by smaller 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. Their design was actually what is now known as the dozer blade and was meant to be attached to an existing farm tractor, used 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. During this time, tractors commonly ran 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. The manual transmission was replaced over time with automatic transmissions and electric motors and hydraulic cylinders eventually replaced cable winch 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.
Bulldozers began as a tractor attachment for farming applications and have grown to become one of the most useful pieces of equipment for construction, civil engineering, building and maintenance applications, mining operations and military use.
