New Hampshire Bulldozers Parts - Bulldozers, also referred to as dozers, are a type of tractor equipped with a dozer blade. They are most often crawler tractors - that is, they operate on a continuous track, rather than wheels - although they can be wheeled tractors. The dozer blade is a large metal plate fixed to the front of the bulldozer. Large volumes can be moved with the dozer blade including dirt, gravel and snow on a variety of landscapes. 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. There are swamp track options available which are tracks with wider width options. 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.
Wheeled system bulldozers feature four wheels that operate with hydraulically powered articulated steering unit. The dozer blade is mounted in front of the articulation joint and is operated on a hydraulic system, rather than mechanical.
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 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. Gravel, dirt, snow and rubbish are commonly pushed into new locations with bulldozers. There are typically three types of dozer blades available. They are:
1. the universal blade;
2. the straight blade; and
3. the semi-U 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. It is generally used for pushing boulders or large rock 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. Dozer blades can be sharpened to enable cutting items including tree stumps and 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. It is common to see an angledozer in action on highways and roads during winter snow removal.
A bull blade is a common bulldozer attachment. 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. There are single shank options on dozer rippers or groups with two or more shanks available depending on the application required. The giant ripper design or large single shank is commonly used for large and compact applications. 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 breaks up concrete, rock, solid objects and dirt into smaller pieces to facilitate easier bulldozer transport. This combination enables projects to be completed faster.
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 first bulldozer design was too large for working in confined spaces such as mining applications. These size limitations lead to smaller unit designs to enable more maneuverability in tighter locations. Smaller, light bulldozer models are commonly called calfdozers.
A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations.
More common bulldozer adaptations resulted in the loader tractor. The loader tractor consists of replacing the dozer blade with a sizeable bucket and using hydraulic arms for raising and lowering. 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. The stump buster attachment is secured to the rear portion of the dozer. It consists of a single spike that protrudes horizontally to split tree stumps up for easier removal. These attachments are often used for land clearing applications. A brush-rake blade is also commonly used with the bulldozer in these situations.
Despite the many adaptations available, bulldozers in their original form remain popular in deforestation, earthmoving, ground levelling, and road carving. Heavy bulldozers are primarily used to level terrain in preparation for construction. 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. The initial design created was the dozer blade made to plow fields by attaching to an existing tractor. 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. During this time, tractors commonly ran on a track system. 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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
