Bulldozer, Angledozer, Ripper, Loader Explained
What is a Bulldozer?
A bulldozer is a powerful pusher machine, typically equipped with a front push blade that can be raised or lowered by a hydraulic control system. It normally excavates and transports material to the unloading site while rotating. It shapes both cuts and embankments in the same operation.
Bulldozer Primary Uses
The most prominent use and economic application of a bulldozer is dragging and transporting material along the direction of travel (maximum 60 or 70 meters), according to a return cycle comprising the following phases:
- Excavation of material and loading the blade.
- Pushing the material accumulated in front of the blade.
- Returning empty and reversing to the excavation area to start a new cycle.
Angledozer Primary Uses
The angledozer finds its most economical application in mid-scale earthworks with lateral slopes. The angledozer is more suitable for moving material to perform the following tasks:
- Excavation of a slope.
- Opening a path halfway up a hillside road.
- Construction of embankments on flat areas.
- In underpinning works.
Tips for Working with a Dozer
Consider these tips when working with a dozer:
- Make cuts as uniform and regular as possible.
- Use thin layer heights.
- Perform work with minimal maneuvering.
- Do not overuse the corner of the blade to start in tougher areas.
- Move on hard ground in more than just first gear.
What is a Ripper?
It’s a type of grating firmly fixed on a frame at the rear of the tractor or bulldozer. It is used for breaking up compacted soils and semi-hard rock by carving, tearing, or tillage action, as these sites are difficult to attack directly with the bulldozer blade. The ripper may consist of one, two, or three prongs or teeth.
Bulldozer & Angledozer Operation Cycles
The three most common operating models for bulldozers and angle dozers are:
- Excavation, transport, and unloading.
- Back-and-forth excavation.
- Embankment or short slope filling.
- Movement along a slope or filling a ditch.
What is a Motor Grader?
It is a machine composed of three axles on tires, two rear and one front, on which rests a rigid or articulated chassis and equipped with a concave profile blade.
Motor Grader Field Uses
Small distance landslides, spreading, and leveling are its specialties. Motor graders typically work in the final stages of most earthwork projects.
They are not suitable for heavy digging work because they are fragile, or in soils with very high moisture content.
They are only economical when working in optimal conditions, such as on flat terrain or gentle slopes, on land without roots and rocks, and so on. These conditions make them among the most economical earthmoving equipment.
What is a Loader?
It is a machine composed of a crawler tractor or tires, with an articulated chassis that can be equipped with a bucket. Its movements (lifting and lowering) are achieved through two articulated lateral arms, powered by hydraulic cylinders. The bucket can also tilt along its longitudinal axis to facilitate loading and unloading, with this movement also controlled by hydraulic cylinders.
Loader Scope of Work
- Loading and transporting materials.
- Collection of materials in piles or bins.
- Excavations of low volume and in inconsistent ground.
- Clearing land of plants.
- As auxiliary machinery in quarries, concrete plants, manufacturing plants, and aggregate selection.
- Spreading land and subsequent leveling.
- As a demolition and blasting machine.