Tag Archives: heavy equipment compaction rollers

Smooth Drum Roller vs. Padfoot (sheepfoot) roller

It is said that good roads play a pivotal role towards the development of any economy. You need good roads to move items real fast because when it comes to good service time also plays a crucial role and good roads saves a lot of time if you have to transport things by roads. Imagine what you situation would be if you have to ferry something on an urgent basis and you know that it will take time just because the roads are not in good shape. Well, it will for sure irk you to the bottom. The importance of flat roads is better known by people who drive regularly on roads and when they encounter bad roads during their journey, it agonize them like anything.

Well that was all about good roads but there is something that plays a crucial role in making good roads. It is heavy equipment like smooth drum roller or a Pad foot roller that gives the roads a good shape and makes it a comfortable journey for all of us. Let us start by discussing smooth drum rollers first.

Smooth drum rollers are ideally heavy equipment with a big roller in the front of the machine and 2 tires at the rear. Smooth drum machines are used on roads that have more granular materials laid on it. Smooth drums are used when materials like sand and gravel are paid on the surface of the road. It actually works towards locking the pieces together giving a stronger grip to the road. The performance of the smooth drum roller also depends upon the moisture the soil has as it allows better movement without any friction.

Heavy equipment companies like CASE manufacture quality smooth drum rollers. As a matter of fact, they are known for producing many high quality rollers for different kinds of roads. It is evident that a smooth drum roller or a pad foot roller is not the only solution for all types of roads and therefore CASE has many versions of rollers for the end user.

Moving towards Padfoot roller which is also known as Sheep foot roller is more typically used on roads that have more consistent and solid materials laid on it. Materials such as clays need a Padfoot roller on it. Using any other roller can simply deteriorate the quality of work and lead to more complications. Pad foot roller is used on cohesive soil because the soil has the tendency to stick and slip over each other. This is why a Padfoot roller which has the capacity to shear the soil with its drum and achieve the required compaction is used. It is to be noted that ballasts can be added to augment the weight of the machine which in turn gives better compaction.

The price of both Smooth drum roller and Padfoot roller is well within the reach of any construction company/contractor. They are not overtly priced like many other machines that are used in road building and other construction works.

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