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Types of Heavy Construction Equipment and Their Uses

Types of Heavy Construction Equipment and Their Uses

Types of Heavy Construction Equipment and Their Uses – In 2018, people bought more construction equipment than ever, thanks to a growing number of commercial, residential, and industrial projects that require heavy-duty tools and machinery to get the job done. Whether you’re working hard at a construction site, conducting road maintenance on a busy highway, or searching for the right tool for your large-scale landscaping project, there is a piece of equipment out there to make the work both easier and safer.

In this guide, we’ll discuss some of the most common types of heavy equipment and their applications.

1. Articulated Trucks

Articulated trucks are a type of heavy-duty dump truck that many praise for their versatility and adaptability. Unlike rigid haulers, articulated trucks consist of both a cab and a narrow trailer, or dump box. The two connect via a pivoting hinge. They are ideal for applications on challenging worksites with little to no paved roads, steep slopes, slippery or sandy surfaces, or low ceiling height.

You’ll find these at many types of job sites, including:

  • Mining
  • Recycling and scrapping
  • Material and aggregate hauling
  • Utility construction

Always match an articulated truck rental or investment to the size and type of load it will be hauling.

2. Asphalt Pavers

Asphalt pavers are usually accompanied by dump trucks carrying asphalt, which moves the material into the paver. Once it’s full, the asphalt paver uses dispersion augers to disperse the asphalt across a leveled surface. Then, it rolls it flat with a hydraulic cylinder, creating a solid, stable place to drive or walk.

You can use these pavers to lay asphalt on places such as:

  • Public and private roads
  • Driveways
  • Parking lots
  • Bridge decks
  • Recreation courts
  • Industrial sites
  • Building construction

Asphalt pavers are available in a variety of paving widths and speeds.

3. Backhoe Loaders

A backhoe loader is a single piece of equipment that can function as either a backhoe, a tractor, or a loader. The durable backhoe is located on the back of the machine, while the loading mechanism is in the front. The central operating machine is the tractor.

Because it’s capable of handling so many different jobs, you can use a backhoe loader for things like:

  • Farming
  • Excavation
  • Construction
  • Hauling
  • Digging

4. Boom Lifts

Boom lifts are a type of aerial lift mechanism. You might have also heard of it referred to as a basket crane or cherry picker. These attachments allow workers to reach elevated work areas but are not limited to only industrial or construction projects.

They are versatile and used across a variety of industries, including:

  • Forestry
  • Construction
  • Painting
  • Farming or harvesting
  • Window cleaning
  • Fire fighting

There are several different types of boom lifts, including telescoping and articulating. Boom lifts are suitable for one or more workers at a time, depending on the size of the bucket or platform.

5. Cold Planers

Cold planers are a type of heavy equipment for construction that utilize rotating drums and carbide cutters to mill pavement or asphalt. You can use a cold planer for either minimal or in-depth removal. Because pavement and asphalt milling creates a lot of dust, most cold planers utilize a water system to maintain a clean and safe work environment.

There are many reasons why one might use a cold planer to mill a roadway, such as:

  • Recycling asphalt for new roads or other projects.
  • Creating rumble strips for use along highways.
  • Repairing existing damage.
  • Smoothing land before paving to minimize any future potholes or cracks.

Read More : Mavericksystemscorp.com

Types of Heavy Construction Equipment and Their Uses

Like most heavy-duty equipment, cold planers are available in various sizes to suit several types of projects. Smaller machines are easily navigable and suitable for minor milling projects, while large machines are more challenging to navigate but can tackle large-scale projects with ease.

6. Compactors

Plate compactors use a heavy, vertically vibrating plate to crush and compact a surface into a level, flat area. The force behind the plate and the quick and repetitive movements work to break down and compact debris. In addition to industrial applications, you can also use a plate compactor to flatten an expanse of soil, sand, or gravel.

Depending on your application, choose between a single, reversible, or heavy-duty plate compactor:

  • Single plate: Single plate compactors are suitable for small-scale asphalt or building projects, like home renovations or laying sidewalks and driveways.
  • Reversible plate: For projects that require more versatility, reversible plates operate in multiple directions.
  • Heavy-duty plate: Heavy-duty plate compactors are the best option for large-scale industrial, construction, or roadway projects.

7. Compact Track and Multi Terrain Loaders

You can use both a compact track loader and a multi-terrain loader to transport heavy worksite materials. The two machines look and function similarly, but they are not the same. Compact track loaders are intended for more rugged, heavy-duty use than a multi-terrain loader. However, that’s not to say a multi-terrain loader isn’t powerful or effective — it’s just better suited for terrains that require more care, like sod or turf, while the compact track loader can handle more challenging surfaces like rocks, mud, and sand.

While each offers an unparalleled level of versatility and traction, you must consider job site conditions when choosing a piece of loader equipment.

8. Dozers

Bulldozers, also known as track-type tractors and crawlers, are critical pieces of machinery for several types of projects, including:

  • Farming
  • Land clearing
  • Road construction
  • Demolition
  • Home renovation

Dozers use a heavy-duty track to move with blades that can push rocks, building materials, debris, sand, snow, or dirt. There are a few different types of dozer blades, including the flat, edgeless straight blade, curved universal blade, and semi-universal combination blade.

9. Draglines

Draglines are a type of large-scale excavator used for reaching extensive depths at surface mining sites, above ground excavation sites, and more. Draglines function using a tall boom arm equipped with wire-based drag and hoist ropes. These ropes work together to move an attached bucket to and from its point of application. Once in place, the dragline operator controls the bucket so it can collect and move debris by dragging it across the surface.

Because they are so tall and heavy, many draglines are assembled on the worksite rather than transported, though there are smaller models available.

10. Drills

Rotary blasthole drills are a type of heavy equipment used for drilling holes at mine sites. Autonomous drills are a growing trend among equipment handlers because they have built-in features that can help you complete projects quickly and safely.

For example, automated drills today might feature:

  • Depth tracking
  • Built-in cameras
  • Automatic leveling, retracting, and drilling
  • HVAC systems to cool while limiting dust exposure

Non-automated drills offer just as much power, but these features can enhance the comfort and safety of your works as well as the overall productivity of the equipment.

10 Types of Heavy Equipment Used in Construction

10 Types of Heavy Equipment Used in Construction

10 Types of Heavy Equipment Used in Construction – Heavy construction equipment are used for various purposes in large projects. Selection of different types of heavy equipment depends on the size of the work and economy of the project. These make construction process easier and faster.

Types of Heavy Construction Equipment

Different types of heavy equipment commonly used in the construction are as follows:

  1. Excavators
  2. Backhoe
  3. Dragline Excavator
  4. Bulldozers
  5. Graders
  6. Wheel Tractor Scraper
  7. Trenchers
  8. Loaders
  9. Tower Cranes
  10. Pavers
  11. Compactors
  12. Telehandlers
  13. Feller Bunchers
  14. Dump Trucks
  15. Pile Boring Machine
  16. Pile Driving Machine

1. Excavators

Excavators are important and widely used equipment in construction industry. Their general purpose is to excavation but other than that they are also used for many purposes like heavy lifting, demolition, river dredging, cutting of trees etc. Excavators contains a long arm and a cabinet. At the end of long arm digging bucket is provided and cabinet is the place provided for machine operator. This whole cabin arrangement can be rotatable up to 360o which eases the operation. Excavators are available in both wheeled and tracked forms of vehicles.

2. Backhoe

Backhoe is another widely used equipment which is suitable for multiple purposes. The name itself telling that the hoe arrangement is provided on the back side of vehicle while loading bucket is provided in the front. This is well useful for excavating trenches below the machine level and using front bucket loading, unloading and lifting of materials can be done.

3. Dragline Excavator

Dragline excavator is another heavy equipment used in construction which is generally used for larger depth excavations. It consists a long length boom and digging bucket is suspended from the top of the boom using cable. For the construction of ports, for excavations under water, sediment removal in water bodies etc. can be done by dragline excavator.

4. Bulldozers

Bulldozers are another type of soil excavating equipment which are used to remove the topsoil layer up to particular depth. The removal of soil is done by the sharp edged wide metal plate provided at its front. This plate can be lowered and raised using hydraulic pistons. These are widely used for the removal of weak soil or rock strata, lifting of soil etc.

Read More : Mavericksystemscorp.com

10 Types of Heavy Equipment Used in Construction

5. Graders

Graders also called as motor graders are another type of equipment used in construction especially for the construction of roads. It is mainly used to level the soil surface. It contains a horizontal blade in between front and rear wheels and this blade is lowered in to the ground while working. Operating cabin is provided on the top of rear axle arrangement. Motor Graders are also used to remove snow or dirt from the roads, to flatten the surface of soil before laying asphalt layer, to remove unnecessary soil layer from the ground etc.

6. Wheel Tractor Scrapers

Wheel Tractor Scrapers are earth moving equipment used to provide flatten soil surface through scrapping. Front part contains wheeled tractor vehicle and rear part contain a scrapping arrangement such as horizontal front blade, conveyor belt and soil collecting hopper. When the front blade is lowered onto the ground and vehicle is moved, the blade starts digging the soil above the blade level and the soil excavated is collected in hopper through conveyor belt. When the hopper is full, the rear part is raised from the ground and hopper is unloaded at soil dump yard.

7. Trenchers

Trenchers or Trenching machines are used to excavate trenches in soil. These trenches are generally used for pipeline laying, cable laying, drainage purposes etc. Trenching machines are available in two types namely chain trenchers and wheeled trenchers. Chain trenchers contains a fixed long arm around which digging chain is provided. Wheeled trenchers contains a metal wheel with digging tooth around it. To excavate hard soil layers, wheeled trenchers are more suitable. Both types of trenchers are available in tracked as well as wheeled vehicle forms.

8. Loaders

Loaders are used in construction site to load the material onto dumpers, trucks etc. The materials may be excavated soil, demolition waste, raw materials, etc. A loader contain large sized bucket at its front with shorter moving arm. Loader may be either tracked or wheeled. Wheeled loaders are widely used in sites while tracked or crawled loaders are used in sites where wheeled vehicles cannot reach.

9. Tower Cranes

Tower cranes are fixed cranes which are used for hoisting purposes in construction of tall structures. Heavy materials like pre-stressed concrete blocks, steel trusses, frames etc. can be easily lifted to required height using this type of equipment. They consists mast which is the vertical supporting tower, Jib which is operating arm of crane, counter jib which is the other arm carries counter weight on rear side of crane and an operator cabin from which the crane can be operated.

10. Paver

Paver or Asphalt paver is pavement laying equipment which is used in road construction. Paver contains a feeding bucket in which asphalt is continuously loaded by the dump truck and paver distributes the asphalt evenly on the road surface with slight compaction. However a roller is required after laying asphalt layer for perfect compaction.