Bulldozers Parts in Pennsylvania - Bulldozers, also referred to as dozers, are a type of tractor equipped 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 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. On unstable ground, the width of the tracks distribute the vehicle’s weight, preventing the heavy machine from sinking. Swamp tracks refer to tracks that have increased widths, suitable for specific applications. These capabilities make bulldozers very popular for use in road construction, clearing land, mining and many other jobs needing powerful but stable equipment to move material.
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. Mounted directly in front of the articulation joint, the bulldozer blade uses a hydraulic system for operating instead of a mechanical setup.
The main tools that distinguish the dozer from other construction machine are 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. 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 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.
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. Sharpened dozer blades may be utilized for cutting items including tree roots and stumps. 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. 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 allows a bulldozer to push a scraper, which is another large, heavy piece of equipment used to move earth.
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
The tool found at the back of the bulldozer with long teeth is the dozer ripper also called the shank. 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. 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 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. One machine that completes multiple tasks creates faster project completion on the job site.
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 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.
Snowier locations including ski hills rely on a lighter bulldozer version for snow removal and winter slope preparation.
More common bulldozer adaptations resulted in the loader tractor. This was created by replacing the dozer blade with a large bucket, raised and lowered with the use of hydraulic arms. 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 stump buster is one of the less common bulldozer attachments. 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. Stump busters are commonly used by bulldozers to clear land. 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. 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
James Cummings, a farmer, teamed up with J. Earl McLeod, a draftsman, to create the first bulldozer design in 1923. 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. The first bulldozer was built soon after and the prototype is can be seen 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.
Custom made attachments became available on tracked and wheeled tractors alike by 1929. During the mid-‘30s, the bulldozer attachment started to gain popularity. Hydraulic cylinders were introduced before 1940 and the term bulldozer referred to the whole machine who’s popularity greatly expanded by the 1950s.
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. The manual transmission was replaced over time with automatic transmissions and electric motors and hydraulic cylinders eventually replaced cable winch systems. These technological upgrades created more effective and accurate control systems. Upgrades with GPS technology have been added to enhance bulldozing tasks with improved grade control.
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.
