Bulldozers Parts Oregon - 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 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. Big, metal teeth known as “the ripper” are located on the back of the bulldozer, used for breaking up tough, compressed items.
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. There are swamp track options available which are tracks with wider width options. 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. 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 bulldozer is easily recognized from other types of industrial equipment thanks to its main components, the ripper and the dozer blade.
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. 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 universal blade, or U blade is tall, curved and has large wings on the side used to carry extra 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 or SU blade features a shorter, slightly less curved blade with size wings that are smaller than those on the U blade. Generally, the semi-U blade is used to push large rock piles or boulders into place.
A dozer blade is fitted either horizontally to the tractor or at an angle. The angle of the dozer blade can be adjusted with tilt cylinders. Dozer blades can be sharpened to enable cutting items including tree stumps and roots. 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. 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 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. 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. There are single shank options on dozer rippers or groups with two or more shanks available depending on the application required. The single shank design is also known as a giant ripper and is preferred for large, very dense projects. The multi-shank options are called 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 breaks up concrete, rock, solid objects and dirt into smaller pieces to facilitate easier bulldozer transport. This allows for quicker project completion.
The dozer ripper is used in farming to break up earth and rock for better plowing and planting. 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 ripper loosens the top lava rock layer to initiate farming applications.
Bulldozer Adaptations
Adaptations to the bulldozer over the years have enabled it to become useful for numerous applications.
For example, the original bulldozer was too large for work in small areas, such as mines. These limitations led to more compact bulldozer designs and models. Calfdozers refer to small, lighter bulldozer models.
Snowier locations including ski hills rely on a lighter bulldozer version for snow removal and winter slope preparation.
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 lesser-known bulldozer attachment is called the stump buster. The stump buster attachment is secured to the rear portion of the dozer. It is a single spike, protruding horizontally, used to split tree stumps for removal. These attachments are often used for land clearing applications. 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. 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 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. 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.
A variety of custom and homemade attachments started to appear in 1929 on tracked and wheeled tractors. However, the popularity of the bulldozer attachment did not occur until the mid-1930s. Once hydraulic cylinders were added, sometime before 1940, bulldozers began to grow in popularity and by the 1950s, the term bulldozer referred to the entire machine.
With their growth in popularity for large and small construction jobs, bulldozers became larger and stronger. 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 started out as a tractor attachment for use in farming has not only become one of the most important machines in today’s civil engineering, it has become an important tool in military operations, mining and building and maintaining the vast infrastructures we rely on every day.
