Bulldozers Parts in Kansas - 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 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. 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.
Bulldozers operating on a wheeled system usually have four wheels, moved along by a 4-wheel-drive system and a hydraulic, articulated steering system. Mounted directly in front of the articulation joint, the bulldozer blade uses a hydraulic system for operating instead of a mechanical setup.
What distinguishes the bulldozer from other large, construction equipment are its principal tools: the dozer blade and the ripper.
The Dozer Blade
The bulldozer blade consists of a sizeable metal plate that is situated at the front of the machine. The purpose of the dozer blade is to push heavy items and awkward materials. Gravel, dirt, snow and rubbish are commonly pushed into new locations with bulldozers. Typically, there are 3 different kinds of dozer blades including the straight blade, the semi-U blade and the universal 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 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. This blade is commonly used to move large rock and boulder piles.
Dozer blades commonly attach horizontally or at an angle to the tractor. 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. Angledozer blades are pushed forward on one side (hence the name) to clear materials away from the path of the machine. Angledozers are commonly used for snow removal.
Many bulldozers come equipped with a bull blade. The reinforced centre portion of the bulldozer is called a bull blade. The bull blade enables the dozer to push a scraper to move large portions of earth.
Dozer blades are also used on military vehicles. 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. 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. Dozer rippers are available in multiple or single shank options. The giant ripper is the name given to the single shank design that is often needed for dense applications. The multi-shank designs are referred to simply as multi-shank rippers.
The boot refers to the tip of the shank and consists of a detachable metal 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 allows for quicker project completion.
The dozer ripper is used in farming to break up earth and rock for better plowing and planting. 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 top layer of lava rock is loosened up with the ripper to create farmable land.
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 limitations led to more compact bulldozer designs and models. Calfdozers refer to small, lighter bulldozer models.
A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations.
The loader tractor is another popular adaptation. 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. 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 are used primarily by bulldozers working on land clearing projects. In those circumstances, the bulldozer also has 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. However, the construction itself is mainly done by small 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. McLeod and Cummings filed a US patent on the bulldozer attachment later that year and it was granted in 1925. It was normal for tractors to run on a track system at this time. 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. 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. These upgrades allowed for more accurate and effective control systems. 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.
