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Bulldozers Parts Wisconsin - 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 attaches to the front of the bulldozer to push materials easily and efficiently. Large volumes can be moved with the dozer blade including dirt, gravel and snow on a variety of landscapes. The back of the bulldozer is usually fitted with large, metal teeth, called the ripper, useful in breaking up hard, compressed material. Specifics A typical bulldozer utilizes tracks that provide excellent maneuvering options and stellar traction on unstable, uneven or rough ground with a unique transmission that enables the dozer to operate with more tractive force. 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. The bulldozer blade relies on a hydraulic system for operation instead of a mechanical system and is located in front of the articulation joint. What distinguishes the bulldozer from other large, construction equipment are its principal tools: the dozer blade and the ripper. 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. This could be anything from dirt, rubbish, sand, gravel or even snow. Three typical kinds of dozer blade options are available including the semi-U blade, the universal blade and the straight 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 blade, or S blade, is short, has no lateral curve and no side wings and is also used for fine earth grading. 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. Usually, the dozer blade attaches to the tractor on an angle or in a horizontal fashion. 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. 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. 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. The dozer blade can help create protective barriers against explosives and artillery. The Dozer Ripper The tool found at the back of the bulldozer with long teeth is the dozer ripper also called the shank. Dozer rippers come in a large, single shank design or with groups of two or more shanks. The giant ripper design or large single shank is commonly used for large and compact applications. The multi-shank designs are referred to simply as multi-shank rippers. The shank’s tip, called the boot, is a metal, detachable piece. 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. This combination enables projects to be completed faster. In agricultural applications, the dozer ripper is used to break up the ground and rocks for planting and plowing. In some areas of Italy and New Zealand, for example, this is especially useful as the nutrient-rich, old lava flows would otherwise not be farmable given their denseness. The ripper loosens the top lava rock layer to initiate farming applications. Bulldozer Adaptations Adaptations to the bulldozer over the years have enabled it to become useful for numerous applications. 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. A smaller and lighter version of the bulldozer is used in snow applications such as ski hills and prepping winter sports locations. More common bulldozer adaptations resulted in the 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. The stump buster attachment is secured to the rear portion of the dozer. It consists of a single spike that protrudes horizontally to split tree stumps up for easier 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. Large bulldozers are commonly used in construction for leveling terrain. 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. 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. 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. A variety of custom and homemade attachments started to appear in 1929 on tracked and wheeled tractors. The bulldozer attachment did not gain popularity until the middle of the 1930s. Once hydraulic cylinders were added, sometime before 1940, bulldozers began to grow in popularity and by the 1950s, the term bulldozer referred to the entire machine. Bulldozers evolved to become stronger and bigger as their demand grew for small and large construction jobs. Numerous companies including Caterpillar and John Deer began making wheeled and tracked bulldozer lines. The manual transmission was replaced over time with automatic transmissions and electric motors and hydraulic cylinders eventually replaced cable winch systems. These technological upgrades created more effective and accurate 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.