Home » Main Parts of Bulldozers and their Primary Functions

Main Parts of Bulldozers and their Primary Functions

Bulldozers are large vehicles used in heavy construction that resemble a tractor fitted with a conspicuous metal blade at the front. This huge vehicle has tough tracked equipment including a large engine that gives it exceptional ground grip. Generally, bulldozers are used to drive substantial amounts of soil, heaps of sand, and loads of debris as well as clearing bushes and shrubs during construction. You can also use it on your farm to dig trenches, and it works efficiently in military operations as well. Precisely, the functions of a bulldozer include:

• Digging hard soil
• Clearing the ground
• Flattening rugged terrain
• Compressing layers of soil
• Ripping and excavating various soil types.

If you are looking forward to purchasing new bulldozers, it is important to be well conversant not only with how they work but also with their common parts and primary functions as explained below.

The Cab

The cab is a rollover protective structure where the driver sits and controls the entire vehicle. The controls in the cab include sticks, lever/joystick as well as deceleration pedals used to set the speed, while other controls help direct the left and right track as well as lift and operate the ripper and blade.

The Blade

Positioned at the bulldozer’s front, the blade is lifted up and down using hydraulic arms using the controls in the cab. It is attached on large arms that allow it to drive incredible quantities of debris, soil, and rocks. At the bottom of the front bulldozer blade is an often unnoticed part: the cutting blade. The main function of this replaceable steel strip is to ensure that the large blade leaves a smooth and even cut as the bulldozer moves over course ground.

Tracks

The tracks help the bulldozer to have tremendous grip power on both sides of the tractor. They are fixed with solid steel pins and heavy steel sections that make them generate powerful traction. The tracks are wide as they cover the footprint of the body starting from behind the blade to the rear of the bulldozer. They facilitate the movement of the bulldozer in, over, or through various obstacles. Its ridges design allows it to fold and crawl over rugged terrain easily.

The Ripper

Located at the rear, the ripper claws and tears in the ground, crushes hard objects, such as rocks and tree stumps, as the bulldozer forces its way through coarse landscapes. Since it is designed with horsepower, it comes in handy, particularly for miners. It is also valuable when it comes to setting lengthy underground pipes. However, it is important to note that a ripper is an optional appliance, as most bulldozers don’t come with it.