Bulldozers Parts in Virginia - Dozers are similar to a tractor that is outfitted with a dozer blade. 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 end of the bulldozer often has giant metal teeth used to break up hardpacked materials.
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. Tracks are also available in increased widths, known as swamp tracks. 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 bulldozer blade relies on a hydraulic system for operation instead of a mechanical system and is located in front of the articulation joint.
What distinguishes the bulldozer from other large, construction equipment are its principal tools: the dozer blade and the ripper.
The Dozer Blade
The huge metal plate that is located at the front end of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. The dozer blade is utilized for pushing heavy materials and items including sand, aggregate and gravel. 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 universal or U blade features large wings on the sides of the tall, curved blade to transport more 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. Generally, the semi-U blade is used to push large rock piles or boulders into place.
Usually, the dozer blade attaches to the tractor on an angle or in a horizontal fashion. Tilt cylinders can adjust the dozer blade angle. 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 variety of bulldozers are equipped with a bull blade. 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 common attachments on a variety of military vehicles. Many different military vehicles including artillery tractors, combat engineering vehicles and battle tanks utilize dozer blades. Mounting a dozer blade on a battle tank enables it to push mines and obstacles out of the way or create combat positions by digging shelters. 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 allows for replacement of the boot when it becomes dull or broken, rather than replacement of the entire shank.
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 allows for quicker project completion.
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
The bulldozer has transformed over the years to become useful for a variety of applications that were not originally possible with the initial design.
The initial bulldozer design was too big to work in confined locations 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.
More common bulldozer adaptations resulted in the loader tractor. This was created by replacing the dozer blade with a large bucket, raised and lowered with the use of hydraulic arms. The new bulldozer is commonly called a Drott, track loader or trackscavator and used for loading dump trucks with earth, gravel and rocks.
A lesser-known bulldozer attachment is called the stump buster. This attaches to the rear of the bulldozer. It is a single spike, protruding horizontally, used to split tree stumps for removal. These are used primarily by bulldozers working on land clearing projects. A brush-rake blade is also commonly used with the bulldozer in these situations.
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
James Cummings, a farmer, teamed up with J. Earl McLeod, a draftsman, to create the first bulldozer design 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. The team filed for a US patent on their bulldozer attachment later that year and a patent was granted in January 1925. During this time, tractors commonly ran on a track system. It was this initial tractor version, complete with extreme maneuverability that helped contribute to the World War I armored tank.
By 1929, home-made or custom-manufactured attachments began to appear on wheeled and tracked tractors alike. However, the popularity of the bulldozer attachment did not occur until the mid-1930s. Hydraulic cylinders were introduced before 1940 and the term bulldozer referred to the whole machine who’s popularity greatly expanded by the 1950s.
Bulldozers evolved to become stronger and bigger as their demand grew for small and large construction jobs. Over time, large companies including Caterpillar and John Deer started manufacturing wheeled and tracked bulldozer models. With time, manual transmission was replaced with automatic transmission and cable winch systems were replaced with hydraulic cylinders and electric motors. More effective and accurate control systems were introduced thanks to these upgrades. Nowadays, GPS technology has been added to improve grade control and enhance bulldozing tasks.
What began as a tractor attachment to be used for farming jobs has transformed into one of the most versatile machines in civil engineering, mining, construction, military operations and building maintenance.
