Bulldozers Parts in Alaska - 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. Big, metal teeth known as “the ripper” are located on the back of the bulldozer, used for breaking up tough, compressed items.
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. There are swamp track options available which are tracks with wider width options. 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.
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. Typically, there are 3 different kinds of dozer blades including the straight blade, the semi-U blade and the universal blade.
The universal blade, or U blade is tall, curved and has large wings on the side used to carry extra material. 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. It is generally used for pushing boulders or large rock piles.
Dozer blades commonly attach horizontally or at an angle to the tractor. Dozer blade angles are capable of being adjusted via tilt cylinders. Sharpened dozer blades may be utilized for cutting items including tree roots and stumps. The blade on an angledozer is pushed forward on one side to allow material to be pushed out of the dozer’s path. 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. 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. Numerous military vehicles can attach a dozer blade for strategic operations including battle tanks, artillery tractors and combat engineering vehicles. 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. 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. Dozer rippers come in a large, single shank design or with groups of two or more shanks. 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 design allows the boot to be replaced instead of the entire shank whenever it becomes broken or dull.
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. 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. 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.
The initial bulldozer design was too big to work in confined locations such as mines. This limitation lead to the creation of a smaller bulldozer design which allowed for maneuvering in tight spaces. Very small, light bulldozers are sometimes referred to as calfdozers.
Snowier locations including ski hills rely on a lighter bulldozer version for snow removal and winter slope preparation.
The loader tractor is another popular adaptation. 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. A stump buster is attached at the back 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. A brush-rake blade is also commonly used with the bulldozer in these situations.
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. 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 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. At the time, it was common for tractors to run on a track system. In fact, it was this earlier version of the tractor, with its superior maneuverability, that contributed to the creation of the armoured tank during World War I.
Custom made attachments became available on tracked and wheeled tractors alike by 1929. The bulldozer attachment did not gain popularity until the middle of the 1930s. Prior to 1940, hydraulic cylinders were added and by the ‘50s, bulldozer popularity began to grow with the term bulldozer referring to the whole machine.
Becoming popular for all types of construction applications, bulldozers grew into a variety of different stronger and larger models. Numerous companies including Caterpillar and John Deer began making wheeled and tracked bulldozer lines. 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.
