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Earth-Moving Heavy Equipment for Construction

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CONSTRUCTION  MATERIALS

Earth-Moving Heavy Equipment for Construction

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BY JUAN RODRIGUEZ

Updated December 30, 2018

Heavy equipment is essential for construction jobs of almost any size, from home
building to large-scale commercial and civil projects. Earth-moving equipment
covers a broad range of machines that can excavate and grade soil and rock,
along with other jobs. Earth movers and other heavy equipment help to speed
not only earth work but also materials handling, demolition, and construction.
Many types of heavy construction equipment are designed for multiple functions,
making them indispensable on job sites.

 01

 Excavators

Pixabay
Excavators are large construction equipment that can be driven by tracks or
wheels, but tracks are more standard. A conventional excavator has a long
bucket arm attached to a pivoting cab that can rotate a full 360 degrees. The
operator sits in the cab and from there has good visibility of the site. Excavators
are highly versatile and can be fitted with special attachments for specialty jobs.
The most common uses for an excavator include:

o Material handling

o Excavating trenches, holes, and foundations

o Brush cutting with hydraulic attachments

o Demolition

o Rough grading

o Heavy lifting and pipe installation

o Mining

o River dredging

Continue to 2 of 9 below.

 02

 Backhoe Loaders

Gravskopa/Pixabay

Backhoe loaders, often called backhoes, have a body that's similar to a farm

tractor and include an adjustable shovel in front and a small bucket in the
back for digging. Backhoe loaders are considered medium-sized construction
equipment for smaller jobs and are capable of working in limited space to
perform various operations. They can move dirt, backfill excavations, dig holes
and trenches, and place pipes and other materials. One of the best attributes of
backhoe loaders is that they are wheel-driven and can be used in urban areas.
They can even be driven to a job site. The bucket in the back can be changed to
dig trenches of different widths.

Continue to 3 of 9 below.

 03

 Bulldozers

Pixabay

Bulldozers are considered one of the strongest and most reliable heavy
equipment used in the construction industry. A bulldozer is a powerful and
extremely heavy machine used to move dirt along large open tracts of land.
Bulldozers have a wide, flat blade in front that can be operated using two
hydraulic pistons to move the blade in a limited range of angles and depths. They
are normally used to push piles of earth and for rough or fine grading, depending
on the size of the bulldozer. A bulldozer's considerable weight helps it crush large
boulders, among other operations.

 04

 Skid-Steer Loaders

Digga.com

Skid-steer loaders are among the most versatile machines available in the
construction industry. They are small and nimble and can turn within their own
footprint, just like a tank, making them ideal for work in confined spaces or in
areas where construction activity has been finalized. Skid-steer loaders are
wheel-driven and offer good traction in snow and mud. The wheels also minimize
soil compaction and damage to finished areas. These handy loaders come in a
few different sizes and can be outfitted with a variety of attachments to perform
digging, drilling, compacting, log grappling, snow blowing, jack-hammering, and
other tasks. 

Continue to 5 of 9 below.

 05

 Motor Graders

Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Motor graders are heavy equipment used for fine grading and for moving small
amounts of dirt. They have a long blade that can be adjusted to meet certain
angles to create a flat surface. They can also be fitted with a second blade in
front of the front axle and in some instances can be used for underground
mining. Motor graders are typically used to fine-grade dirt or gravel roads or to
prepare the road base course before placing asphalt. Graders can also be used
to create sloped surfaces or drainage ditches with shallow V-shaped cross-
sections.

 06

 Crawler Loaders

Alexprevot /Flickr

A crawler loader is a cross between an excavator and a backhoe or bucket

loader. Its tracks give it excellent stability, and its versatile bucket makes it useful
for moving soil and debris and for loading material onto trucks. Crawler loaders
are also used for excavation on relatively small projects. For larger-scale work, a
hydraulic excavator is often used instead of a crawler loader.

Continue to 7 of 9 below.

 07

 Trenchers

Ditch Witch/Flickr

True to its name, a trencher is used to dig trenches, usually narrow trenches for
piping and cabling. Trenchers come in many different types and sizes, from small
walk-behind versions to very large trenching machines that can cut into asphalt
pavement and other hard surfaces. The trencher has a conveyor system that
carries the excavated material and deposits it onto the ground next to the trench.
Trenchers can use different digging implements depending on the depth of the
trench and material being excavated.

 08

 Scrapers

David McNew/Getty Images

A scraper can move dirt and aggregates quickly around a construction site and is
used primarily for digging and leveling large areas of land. Scrapers are large
heavy equipment designed for open areas, where they can run at high speeds for
cut and fill operations. Large self-propelled scrapers are called motor scrapers.
There are also smaller scrapers, called pull scrapers, that are pulled behind
another vehicle.

Continue to 9 of 9 below.
  09

 Common Dump Trucks

Creative commons

Dump trucks are needed on almost every large job site. They offer limited
function but perform the all-important task of moving and dumping many types of
heavy material. They are also road-ready so they can bring material into or out of
site and can travel anywhere large equipment is permitted. Dump trucks come in
many different sizes for different capacity and load needs, ranging from small
utility-type trucks with dumping beds to enormous machines used in mining
operations.

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NAME IMAGE USES

Hoe This tool is used to

digging and to place
concrete, cement mortar
in head pan

Head Pan This one is used to

transport materials

Masonry This tool is used to place

trowel cement mortar

Measurement This is used to measure

Tape
NAME IMAGE USES

Plumb Bob This tool is used to check

the vertical alignment of
civil works

Wheel Barrow This tool is used to

transport cement mortar
or any materials.
Sometimes it also be
used to measure the
quantites of materials for
site level concrete mixing

Concrete This tool is used to

Mixer thoroughly mix the
concrete at site.

Vibrator This tool is used to

vibrate the concrete
while pouring. For
workability purpose, we
all add water to concrete.
To avoid that we are
using vibrators. There are
many types of vibrators
NAME IMAGE USES

Rubber Boots This one is used to

prevent skin from
chemical contact

Sand This tool is used to sieve

screening sand at site.
machine

Gloves This is used to avoid

direct contact with
dangerous tools,
machines or to avoid any
direct chemical material
contact

Safety Glass Used for safety purpose

while drilling,
hacking/roughening,
grinding

Bump This tool is used to level

Cutter/Screed fresh concrete surface
especially in slab
concrete
NAME IMAGE USES

Wooden This tool is used to give a

Float/wooden smooth finish to the
rendering float plastered area

Chisel This tool is used to

remove excess or waste
hard concrete

Crow Bar This tool is used in

fomwork to remove nails
from boards

Framing This tool is used in

Square Brickwork, Plastering to
check right angle

Framing This tool is used to drive

Hammer and remove nails

Line Level This tool is used to check

horizontal level in
brickwork, plastering ,
flooring and tile works
NAME IMAGE USES

Torpedo Level Combination of line level

and framing square

Cordless Drill This tool is used to make

pilot holes, replacing
jumper (special type of
drill should be used while
drilling concrete)

Circular Saw This tool is used to cut

woods in shuttering

Hand Saw This tool is used in wood

works and shuttering

Block Plane / This tool is used in Door

Jack Plane and window wood works

Flat Pry Bar This tool is used in

shuttering sometimes
used to adjust the
column formwork to align
NAME IMAGE USES

Earth Rammer This tool is used to level

the ground

Ladder

Digging bar This tool is used to

breakup and loosen the
compacted / hard surface
area

Polishers This tool is used to

smoothen the surface
(wood or marble flooring)

Measuring This tool is used to

Wheel measure lengths. It varies
by length
 NAME IMAGE USES

Measuring Box This tool is used to

measure the cement and
sand while site mix

Tile Cutter This tool is used to cut

the tiles

Putty Knife This tool is used in putty

finishing to limit the
thickness of the putty.

Vacuum This tools is used to clean

Blower the surface area from
impurities (In flooring,
Slab concrete etc.)

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