Bulldozers Parts in San Antonio - Dozers are similar to a tractor that is outfitted with a dozer blade. 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 is a large metal plate fixed to the front of the bulldozer. 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 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. 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 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. 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 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.
Usually, the dozer blade attaches to the tractor on an angle or in a horizontal fashion. Dozer blade angles are capable of being adjusted via tilt cylinders. The dozer blade is sometimes sharpened to allow for cutting of objects, such as stumps or 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. Angledozers are commonly used for 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.
Military vehicles also utilize dozer blades. Many different military vehicles including artillery tractors, combat engineering vehicles and battle tanks utilize dozer blades. 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
The shank or dozer ripper is the substantial tool situated on the bulldozers’ back with long teeth. Dozer rippers are available in multiple or single shank options. The giant ripper design or large single shank is commonly used for large and compact applications. 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 enables the boot to be easily replaced when it becomes broken or worn down instead of having to completely change the 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 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
Over time, the bulldozer has been adapted to allow for uses that were not possible with its original 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. Very small, light bulldozers are sometimes referred to as 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 machine was born by changing the dozer blade with a large bucket and using hydraulic arms to raise and lower it. 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 less common bulldozer attachment is a stumpbuster. A stump buster is attached at the back of the bulldozer. It consists of a single spike that protrudes horizontally to split tree stumps up for easier removal. These are used primarily by bulldozers working on land clearing projects. In those instances, the bulldozer is often also equipped with a brush-rake blade.
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. The construction is completed mostly by smaller bulldozers and loader tractors.
Origins
In 1923, the first bulldozer was designed when farmer James Cummings joined forces with a draftsman named J. Earl McLeod. 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 soon built the first bulldozer and their original prototype can be viewed in Morrowville, Kansas’ city park. 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.
Custom made attachments became available on tracked and wheeled tractors alike by 1929. During the mid-‘30s, the bulldozer attachment started to gain popularity. 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.
Bulldozers evolved to become stronger and bigger as their demand grew for small and large construction jobs. Numerous companies including Caterpillar and John Deer began making wheeled and tracked bulldozer lines. 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. 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.
