Bulldozers Parts Corpus Christi - Bulldozers, also referred to as dozers, are a type of tractor equipped with a dozer blade. Many models are known as crawler tractors, operating on a continuous track instead of using wheels; however, wheeled models are available. The dozer blade attaches to the front of the bulldozer to push materials easily and efficiently. 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. The track width evenly distributes the weight in unstable applications to prevent the industrial machine from sinking. Swamp tracks refer to tracks that have increased widths, suitable for specific applications. 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.
The dozers that rely on a wheeled system typically consist of four wheels that use a 4WD system combined with an articulated hydraulic steering mechanism. 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 main tools that distinguish the dozer from other construction machine are 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 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. 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 S blade aka the straight blade features zero side wings or lateral curve and is used for fine earth grading applications. 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.
Usually, the dozer blade attaches to the tractor on an angle or in a horizontal fashion. The angle of the dozer blade can be adjusted with 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. It is common to see an angledozer in action on highways and roads during winter snow removal.
Many bulldozers come equipped with a bull blade. A bull blade is a reinforced centre section of the bulldozer. The bull blade enables the dozer to push a scraper to move large portions of earth.
Military vehicles also utilize dozer blades. 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. It also helps create a protective barrier against artillery and explosives.
The Dozer Ripper
The shank or dozer ripper is the substantial tool situated on the bulldozers’ back with long teeth. Dozer rippers come in a large, single shank design or with groups of two or more shanks. The giant ripper is the name given to the single shank design that is often needed for dense applications. Multi-shank rippers refer to multi-shank designs.
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 breaks up concrete, rock, solid objects and dirt into smaller pieces to facilitate easier bulldozer transport. 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 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 first bulldozer design was too large for working in confined spaces such as mining applications. These limitations led to more compact bulldozer designs and models. Very small, light bulldozers are sometimes referred to as calfdozers.
A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations.
Another adaptation resulted in the popular loader tractor. The loader tractor consists of replacing the dozer blade with a sizeable bucket and using hydraulic arms for raising and lowering. This adapted bulldozer model is referred to as a track loader, trackscavator or Drott to load gravel, earth and rocks into dump trucks.
A less common bulldozer attachment is a stumpbuster. 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. In those instances, the bulldozer is often also equipped with a brush-rake blade.
The original bulldozer design is used ground leveling, road carving, deforestation and earthmoving applications. Large bulldozers are commonly used in construction for leveling terrain. The construction is completed mostly by smaller bulldozers and loader tractors.
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 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. However, the popularity of the bulldozer attachment did not occur until the mid-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. Over time, large companies including Caterpillar and John Deer started manufacturing wheeled and tracked bulldozer models. Electric motors and hydraulic cylinders replaced initial cable winch mechanisms and automatic transmissions replaced manual transmission systems. 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.
