Bulldozers Parts in San Francisco - Dozers are similar to a tractor that is outfitted 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 is a large metal plate fixed to the front of the bulldozer. Alteration projects and construction sites rely on dozer blades to transport gravel, dirt and other materials. The back of the bulldozer is usually fitted with large, metal teeth, called the ripper, useful in breaking up hard, compressed material.
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. 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. 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.
Wheeled system bulldozers feature four wheels that operate with hydraulically powered articulated steering unit. Mounted directly in front of the articulation joint, the bulldozer blade uses a hydraulic system for operating instead of a mechanical setup.
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. Snow, gravel, sand, dirt and garbage are some of the most popular items that bulldozers push around. Typically, there are 3 different kinds of dozer blades including the straight blade, the semi-U blade and the universal blade.
The U blade, aka the universal blade, is curved and tall with sizeable wings on the sides to enable more material to be easily transported. The S blade aka the straight blade features zero side wings or lateral curve and is used for fine earth grading applications. The SU or semi-U blade combines a shorter blade with slight side wings and less curve compared to the U blade. This blade is commonly used to move large rock and boulder 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. Angledozer blades are pushed forward on one side (hence the name) to clear materials away from the path of the machine. Angledozers are commonly used for snow removal.
A variety of bulldozers are equipped with a bull blade. The bull blade refers to a reinforced middle 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. Many different military vehicles including artillery tractors, combat engineering vehicles and battle tanks utilize dozer blades. The dozer blade helps the battle tank maneuver items and mines to create combat positions or dig shelters. It also helps create a protective barrier against artillery and explosives.
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. Multi-shank rippers refer to multi-shank designs.
The tip of the shank is a detachable, metal piece known as the boot. This allows for replacement of the boot when it becomes dull or broken, rather than replacement of the entire shank.
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. 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 top layer of lava rock is loosened up with the ripper to create farmable land.
Bulldozer Adaptations
The bulldozer has transformed over the years to become useful for a variety of applications that were not originally possible with the initial design.
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. Smaller, light bulldozer models are commonly called calfdozers.
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. 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. This attaches to the rear of the bulldozer. The horizontally protruding single spike is used to split up tree stumps into smaller more manageable pieces 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.
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 initial design created was the dozer blade made to plow fields by attaching to an existing tractor. The first bulldozer was built soon after and the prototype is can be seen 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. At the time, it was common for tractors to run on a track system. It was this initial tractor version, complete with extreme maneuverability that helped contribute to the World War I armored tank.
A variety of custom and homemade attachments started to appear in 1929 on tracked and wheeled tractors. 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.
With their growth in popularity for large and small construction jobs, bulldozers became larger and stronger. Over time, large companies including Caterpillar and John Deer started manufacturing wheeled and tracked bulldozer models. The manual transmission was replaced over time with automatic transmissions and electric motors and hydraulic cylinders eventually replaced cable winch systems. These upgrades allowed for more accurate and effective 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.
