Minnesota Bulldozers Parts - 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 large metal plate attached to the front of the bulldozer is called the dozer blade. Large volumes can be moved with the dozer blade including dirt, gravel and snow on a variety of landscapes. 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. 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. 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. The dozer blade is mounted in front of the articulation joint and is operated on a hydraulic system, rather than mechanical.
The main tools that distinguish the dozer from other construction machine are the dozer blade and the ripper.
The Dozer Blade
The bulldozer blade consists of a sizeable metal plate that is situated at the front of the machine. The dozer blade is utilized for pushing heavy materials and items including sand, aggregate and gravel. 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 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. 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. The angle of the dozer blade can be adjusted with tilt cylinders. The dozer blade is sometimes sharpened to allow for cutting of objects, such as stumps or roots. The blade on an angledozer is pushed forward on one side to allow material to be pushed out of the dozer’s path. 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. A bull blade is a reinforced centre 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. 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. The dozer blade can help create protective barriers against explosives and artillery.
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.
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.
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 ripper loosens the top lava rock layer to initiate farming applications.
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 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.
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 bulldozer model is referred to as a track loader, trackscavator or Drott to load gravel, earth and rocks into dump trucks.
A lesser-known bulldozer attachment is called the stump buster. A stump buster is attached at the back 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 circumstances, the bulldozer also has a brush-rake blade.
The original bulldozer design is used ground leveling, road carving, deforestation and earthmoving applications. 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
The initial bulldozer design was created when a draftsman, J. Earl McLeod teamed up with a farmer named James Cummings in 1923. The initial design created was the dozer blade made to plow fields by attaching to an existing tractor. They built the original bulldozer and it can be viewed in Kansas’ city park, Morrowville. McLeod and Cummings filed a US patent on the bulldozer attachment later that year and it was granted in 1925. It was normal for tractors to run on a track system at this time. 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.
A variety of custom and homemade attachments started to appear in 1929 on tracked and wheeled tractors. However, the popularity of the bulldozer attachment did not occur until the mid-1930s. 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. Numerous companies including Caterpillar and John Deer began making wheeled and tracked bulldozer lines. Electric motors and hydraulic cylinders replaced initial cable winch mechanisms and automatic transmissions replaced manual transmission systems. These technological upgrades created more effective and accurate control systems. 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.
