Portland Bulldozers Parts - A popular type of industrial equipment is a bulldozer. Crawler tractors run on continuous track as opposed to relying on wheels, although, wheeled versions are also on the market. The large metal plate attached to the front of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. 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. 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. 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.
Wheeled system bulldozers feature four wheels that operate with hydraulically powered articulated steering unit. 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 huge metal plate that is located at the front end of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. The dozer blade is utilized for pushing heavy materials and items including sand, aggregate and gravel. 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 S blade aka the straight blade features zero side wings or lateral curve and is used for fine earth grading applications. 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. 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. Tilt cylinders can adjust the dozer blade angle. 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. The angledozer is commonly used for snow removal on roads and highways.
A bull blade is a common bulldozer attachment. 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.
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. The dozer blade helps the battle tank maneuver items and mines to create combat positions or dig shelters. The dozer blade can help create protective barriers against explosives and artillery.
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 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 tip of the shank is a detachable, metal piece known as the boot. This design allows the boot to be replaced instead of the entire shank whenever it becomes broken or dull.
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. 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 top layer of lava rock is loosened up with the ripper to create farmable land.
Bulldozer Adaptations
Adaptations to the bulldozer over the years have enabled it to become useful for numerous applications.
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.
In snow areas, such as ski hills, a lighter version of the bulldozer is used for snow removal and preparing areas for winter sports.
Another adaptation resulted in the popular 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 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. These attachments are often used for land clearing applications. A brush-rake blade is also commonly used with the bulldozer in these situations.
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. Heavy bulldozers are primarily used to level terrain in preparation for construction. Construction aspects are mainly completed by loader tractors and small bulldozer models.
Origins
The initial bulldozer design was created when a draftsman, J. Earl McLeod teamed up with a farmer named James Cummings 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. 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. 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. 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.
Becoming popular for all types of construction applications, bulldozers grew into a variety of different stronger and larger models. 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 technological upgrades created more effective and accurate control systems. These days, GPS technology geared toward bulldozing tasks has added to improved grade control.
Bulldozers began as a tractor attachment for farming applications and have grown to become one of the most useful pieces of equipment for construction, civil engineering, building and maintenance applications, mining operations and military use.
