Bulldozers Parts Olympia - Bulldozers, also referred to as dozers, are a type of tractor equipped 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 large metal plate attached to the front of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. Alteration projects and construction sites rely on dozer blades to transport gravel, dirt and other materials. 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. The track width evenly distributes the weight in unstable applications to prevent the industrial 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.
Bulldozers operating on a wheeled system usually have four wheels, moved along by a 4-wheel-drive system and a hydraulic, articulated steering system. 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 huge metal plate that is located at the front end of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. 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 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 straight or S blade is much shorter than the U blade and has no wings on the side or lateral curve, making it ideal for earth grading jobs. 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. 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. 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 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 common attachments on a variety of 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. Dozer rippers are available in multiple or single shank options. 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 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.
In agricultural applications, the dozer ripper is used to break up the ground and rocks for planting and plowing. 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
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.
In snow areas, such as ski hills, a lighter version of the bulldozer is used for snow removal and preparing areas for winter sports.
The loader tractor is another popular adaptation. 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 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.
The original bulldozer design is used ground leveling, road carving, deforestation and earthmoving applications. Large bulldozers are commonly used in construction for leveling terrain. 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. The team filed for a US patent on their bulldozer attachment later that year and a patent 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.
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.
Bulldozers evolved to become stronger and bigger as their demand grew for small and large construction jobs. Over time, large companies including Caterpillar and John Deer started manufacturing wheeled and tracked bulldozer models. 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. Upgrades with GPS technology have been added to enhance bulldozing tasks with 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.
