Georgia 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 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. 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. On unstable ground, the width of the tracks distribute the vehicle’s weight, preventing the heavy machine from sinking. Tracks are also available in increased widths, known as swamp tracks. 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 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 dozer blade is a large, metal plate mounted at the front of the bulldozer. The purpose of the dozer blade is to push heavy items and awkward materials. Snow, gravel, sand, dirt and garbage are some of the most popular items that bulldozers push around. 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 blade, or U blade is tall, curved and has large wings on the side used to carry extra material. 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. 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. Dozer blade angles are capable of being adjusted via tilt cylinders. Sharpened dozer blades may be utilized for cutting items including tree roots and stumps. The blade on an angledozer is pushed forward on one side to allow material to be pushed out of the dozer’s path. Angledozers are commonly used for snow removal.
Many bulldozers come equipped with a bull blade. The bull blade refers to a reinforced middle 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 common attachments on a variety of 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. 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
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 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. This allows for quicker project completion.
In farming, a dozer ripper is used to break up rock and very dense earth to allow for ploughing 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
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. This limitation lead to the creation of a smaller bulldozer design which allowed for maneuvering in tight spaces. 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. 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. This attaches to the rear 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.
Despite the many adaptations available, bulldozers in their original form remain popular in deforestation, earthmoving, ground levelling, and road carving. Large bulldozers are mainly used to flatten terrain for construction preparation. The construction is completed mostly by smaller bulldozers and loader tractors.
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. The first bulldozer was built soon after and the prototype is can be seen 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. During this time, tractors commonly ran on a track system. 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.
Becoming popular for all types of construction applications, bulldozers grew into a variety of different stronger and larger models. Eventually, many companies such as John Deere and Caterpillar began to manufactured large tracked and wheeled bulldozers. 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. These days, GPS technology geared toward bulldozing tasks has added to 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.