The construction industry depends heavily on the heavy construction equipment that are used to complete the projects. Without adequate supply of construction machinery, the yearly cycle of construction industry’s growth can’t see the boom that it so ideally requires. Therefore both of these are interrelated. There are many different types of heavy construction equipment that are used on different sites in different working conditions. There are a variety of tasks that should be performed in order to wrap up the site work.  The heavy construction equipment such as excavators, dozers, loaders, and many others are imperative to the completion of these tasks. If you are in a position where you need to make a decision regarding the purchase of construction equipment for the completion of projects that your company is taking, then you need to know how many types are there and what do they do. Knowing all of this can also hone your skills of finding alternative equipment for the same job. A brief description of each of the equipment type can give you a slight edge when you are running against the clock.

Excavators

Excavators are one of the most widely used heavy construction equipment around the world at many construction sites. With excavators you can do a variety of tasks. Although excavators are mainly used for the purpose of excavating but due to its versatile nature, the equipment is also used as an alternative for many equipment. One can perform demolition tasks, heavy lifting, cutting the trees, and river dredging. Excavators are equipped with a long arm and bucket. This bucket is used for the purpose of excavating, loading the truck, and many others. The cabinet is made for the operator to sit in, view, control, and operate this equipment. The cabin can be made to rotate 360 degrees which gives the operator the whole view and ease of operations. There are two further different types of excavators, the wheeled excavator or the track excavator. Both of these can be used according to the type of job and working conditions.

Articulated Trucks

The articulated trucks are used to carry the material from one point to another. With the advent of the articulated dump trucks hauling the material has become very easy. These trucks are made up of two parts, the cab – where the operator sits and controls the truck. The other part is the trailer in which the material is carried, particularly used to carry heavy loads. The articulated trucks have different capacities and come in different sizes and models. Both the parts i.e. cab and the trailer are joined together for easier and convenient operation mode. Equipped with good tires and lifting capacity, these machines are made to make your work easier and error-free.

Backhoe Loaders

Backhoe loaders are a famous heavy construction equipment that are used for various purposes. One can safely say that this equipment is a combination of backhoe, loader, and tractor. You should also know that one of the main functions of this equipment is to dig hard materials. On top of this, you can find its utilization in transportation of building materials, digging holes/ excavation, breaking asphalt, landscaping, small demolitions, and in other tasks. The rotation freedom on this machine is 200 degrees, enough for jobs that require light-to medium working capacity.

Dragline Excavators

Draglines excavators are a type of heavy construction equipment that are more than suitable for excavations with greater depths. These excavators consist of a boom, which is long in length, and a digging bucket that lays suspended from the top of the boom using a cable. Dragline excavators are used for large construction projects such as for excavation under water, for sediment removal in water bodies, for construction of ports, and multiple other tasks. The industry where it is usually utilized is surface mining and excavating.

Motor graders

Another type of heavy construction equipment is motor grader. Motor graders are used in the construction of roads. Levelling of the soil surface is mainly done with the help of this equipment. Without the motor grader one can’t think of successful pavement of a road. This machines contains a horizontal blade in between the front and the rear wheels. The cabin for this equipment is present on top of the rear wheels. One can remove snow, dirt, and flatten the surface before laying down the asphalt layer.

Trenchers

Used for excavating trenches within the soil, these trenching machines are used for many purposes. Purposes such as cable laying, pipeline laying, drainage purposes, are all fulfilled with the help of this heavy construction equipment. There are two types of this construction equipment that are chained trenchers and wheeled trenchers. Chain trenchers are composed of a fixed long arm around which chain is present. When it comes to wheeled trenchers, there is a metal wheel with a digging tooth around it. When you require digging of hard soil you should opt for wheeled trenchers. One can choose either the wheeled form or the tracked form.

Wheel tractor Scrapers

When it comes to flattening the soil through scrapping, then tractor scrappers are the most suitable earth moving equipment. For the front part, you have a wheel tractor, and as for the rear part a scrapping arrangement such as conveyor belt, horizontal blade, or a soil collecting hopper is present. The wheel tractor scrapper works by lowering the front blade onto the ground. The movement of the vehicle leads to the digging of the soil by the blade. This results in collection of the excavated soil in a hopper by means of conveyor belt.

Loaders

Loaders are the movers of the construction industry. On the site whenever one wants to load the materials on to the dumpers or the trucks, the loaders are used. Each pass is in line with the size of the dumper or truck. There are a variety of materials that can be carried such as demolition waste, excavated soil, raw materials, and many others. The main component of a loader is a large bucket with shorter moving arm on the front. Here too, one gets the option of either choosing a wheel loader or a track loader. So you are free to make your choice according to the work that you want to be done. These heavy duty equipment need to be matched to the truck that is going to be filled so that efficiency is increased and working time is minimized.

Dozers

Known by the large metal blade in the front, dozer is used to move enormous amounts of soil along with other types of materials. You should know that each equipment is more suited to a certain type of task. If the task at hand requires moving large quantities of material at a short distance, then you can use a dozer to do this job. However, if you want to move massive amounts at a long distance then you can use both at the same time, a dump truck and an excavator to do this job. There are also two different types of dozer; the tracked one and the wheeled one. The special thing about track dozer is the even dissipation of weight over the tracks. This helps eliminate the chances of equipment sinking in the soft ground. Wheel dozers on the other hand has another type of advantage – mobility. Due to the large tires, a wheel dozer can move up to three times faster than a track dozer. Now that you know about both the types of dozers, you are free to make your choice according to the job that you want to get done. Considering the working conditions, you should choose.

Asphalt pavers

Laying of asphalt is a job that everyone wants to be done perfectly. The equipment that is used to perform this job is known as an asphalt paver. Either it’s a road, a bridge, or a parking lot, you can use an asphalt paver to do the job. Two other types of heavy construction equipment that accompany the pavers while laying the asphalt are an articulated dump truck and a roller. The dump truck in this instance is used as a supplier of asphalt to the paver and roller provides the much needed compaction to ensure that asphalt stays in its place.

Cold Planers

Also known as the milling machines, the cold planers are used to remove the concrete and asphalt from a given surface. An excellent combination of the rotating big drums and cutters, precisely grinds the surface and cuts the pavement. The loose ends, i.e. the loose pavements are automatically moved in to the center of the drum. From there its move towards the conveyor belt. The supply of water to the drum, during this milling process is to minimize the heat and the dust.

Harvesters

Harvesters can be used to perform multiple tasks such as cutting trees, bunching them, and stripping the limbs from the tree. Here one can easily see that a harvester is capable of doing the job of more than one heavy construction equipment. If you need to do something that should be done quickly and efficiently then a harvester is your answer.

Feller Bunchers

When your targeted material changes from soil to trees, then you might be in need of a feller buncher. This machine works like a lumber jack, just a bit more quickly and a lot more efficiently. A feller buncher works cleanly, swiftly, and precisely. It doesn’t only cut the trees but also gathers them. The placement is done in a clear and concise manner.

Forwarders

The quick loading and removal of trees from the site, after feller bunchers are done with it, can be done by using a forwarder – from stump to the roadside landing. These can be categorized on the basis of their load carrying capacity. The load carrying capacity ranges from 1 to 3 tons, 12 to 15 tons, and 25 tons for clearfelling.

Tower Cranes

When it comes down to the construction of monstrous skyscrapers shining brightly in the sky then tower cranes are the one heavy construction equipment that can’t be ignored. These are fixed cranes that are used for hoisting purposes. The movement of heavy materials such as the steel trusses, pre-stressed concrete blocks, and frames requires the tower cranes to do the job. These cranes are made up of masts – that is the vertical tower, jib – which is the operating arm of the crane, counter jib- which is the counter weight and the operator cabin – from where the operator can control the crane.

KnuckleBoom Loaders

After the cutting, stripping, and sizing down of the trees to a required size, the loading of these trees on to a truck for transport is the next step. Here the knuckleboom loader comes into play. This is a machine that is made up of a boom directed towards picking and loading logs. The speed of this heavy construction equipment is more than you can imagine for an equipment with this much size.

Skid Steer Loaders

A skid steer loader can be used in place of many equipment. The skid steer loader owes its versatility to the fact that it is attachment ready. The attachment acceptance has made this construction machinery one of the most demanded machines. However there is one thing that you should keep an eye out for. The weighing capacity. The skid steer loaders come in different sizes and capacity and if you are thinking of getting ample amount of work done then you should match the equipment with the job site and working conditions.

These are some types of the heavy construction equipment that are used within the periphery of the construction industry. If you still have any questions, you can ask us right away. We’ll be more than happy to help you. Till then, happy reading!