Tag Archives: Construction Equipment

What does LGP (low ground pressure) stand for?

Heavy equipment are very heavy and can cause serious damage to the ground if they do not have proper low ground pressure. This is a subject that many people using heavy equipment may not be aware of. It is only because that this subject doesn’t affect their work in any way. However, people who have studied heavy equipment as their subject may know how important low ground pressure is to keep the ground away from much pressure from the heavy equipment. The equipment if do not possess low ground pressure can significantly damage the soil which can be dangerous especially for farmers because they will then slowly and steadily lose the quality of the soil. It may be also possible that the soil may become infertile. Therefore, it becomes very important to reduce the ground pressure from heavy equipment and the keep the quality of the soil intact.

What can be done to reduce the ground pressure from heavy equipment? Well, one of the most important parts that can be done to reduce the ground pressure is replacing the steel tracks with hard plastic tracks. That will significantly bring down the pressure to a larger extent thereby keeping the quality of the soil undamaged. There are few companies that produce such plastic plates that can be used as ground tracks for heavy equipment. Nylatrack plates are one such plate produced by “Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products” that comparatively brings down the weight of the machine. It is said that they are 80% less weighty that the steel plates thus exerting less pressure on the ground. Similarly, there are many more such plastic plates manufacturing companies that play a mighty role in today’s modern engineering and also keeping the ground pressure low.

Another benefit of using plastic tracks is they can easily work on soft grounds which is difficult for heavy equipment with steel plates to do. They can also work on pavements which again may not be so simple for heavy equipment with steel tracks. Exerting low ground pressure will have almost no side effects on the ground. Other than replacing the steel plates with plastic plates, there is one more way to lower the ground pressure. Just by reducing the noise, one can also reduce the ground pressure. The equipment vibrations are soaked up by the plastic plates which only happen if the tracks are flexible in nature. By installing plastic tracks, the tracks of the machine become quite flexible which in turn absorb the vibration coming out of the tracks and thus the noise of the undercarriage goes silent. This means that there is less stress on the drive chain that happens predominantly because the plastic track plates absorb the bending force.

The plastic track plates manufactured by companies are immune to oils and seawater which makes it a machine that can work in extreme conditions. Since it has plastic plates, it is very unlikely that the soil will stick with the plates. This will prevent any sort of damage to the ground.

How to prevent your heavy equipment getting stolen

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Thieves always have one thing in mind. Steal a highly priced stuff and sell it at a lower price. It will still leave them with a bounty. It really does not matter much if the item they want to steal is the car parked at your backyard or the heavy equipment that is lying at your construction site. For them, it is good money lying unprotected and definitely a chance to earn a lot of money in a comparatively shorter span. They know for sure how highly priced heavy equipment are and therefore if you have left your machine unprotected, it is definitely a cause of worry. If you feel that keeping the equipment in the construction site will keep it away from the eyes of the thieves, then you have completely mistaken them. You will never know what they have set your machine as their next target and one fine day you will get to see the equipment missing from the site.

It is better to be safe than sorry for not doing the right thing at the right time and therefore it is important that you keep your heavy equipment protected. Thieves will never let you know when they are planning to steal your machine and therefore installing a camera or keeping some sort of security will deter them to take this step. Efforts that you should take to keep your machine safe are stated below.

Install cameras at major points in the construction site:-

Installing cameras at all the important points can work a great deal in keeping the thieves at bay. It has been noticed that thieves do not want to get inside the compounds that has cameras all around the place. Trying to steal a machine from a place that has lot of cameras has more chance for them to get caught and therefore they kind of like to play it safe.

Deploy security men to protect your machine:-

Alongside installing cameras you can also deploy security men at the site who will keep a constant check. It will be too much of a risk to try any misadventure when you have the security guys available at the site. They would rather not dare to drive away a big machine especially when there are people around and guarding the place. This would act a big deterrent to the ones who enter the site with the intention to steal the equipment.

Give a suitable indicator to all your machines:-

If you have a lot of machines with you, it becomes difficult for you to identify which equipment is yours and which one you have taken on rent (if at all you have taken any machine on rent). What needs to be done is tag the machines with numbers or codes engraved in it. The numbers should be visible to everybody which if stolen will not be easy to sell in the black market. The thieves will also not want to make the selling part difficult and hence will not lay their hands on machines that have those numbers or codes.

 

 

Heavy equipment that is used by the military

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If we think that heavy equipment are used only by the construction or the mining industries then we are only partially correct with our thoughts. There is another sector which is presumably larger than the both the sectors which also uses number one quality heavy equipment and accessories and this is the military. The US military uses various types of heavy equipment for its different uses and they give the order of its requirements to some top notch companies. The requirement is given to the heavy equipment manufacturing companies and they in return give the quotation to the military officials. Once they get the clearance from the higher officials, the procurement process starts off.

The reason why military needs advanced heavy equipment is that they always get involved in activities that can’t be done without the use of sophisticated machines. Machines that some construction companies have probably never heard or have seen are procured by the military for doing everything that a logical mind can think of. They use bulldozers, excavators, cranes, loaders, crawlers etc. and they train their men for the work. They at times also recruit operators from outside but for work that is done in highly confidential places, they prefer to put their men at work. Therefore, they also provide training of operating heavy equipment to the men in uniform so that they can curtail the use of civilian operators in highly confidential zones.

The heavy equipment used by the military may not be similar to the ones used by civilians. They are more sophisticated and technologically advanced and have the potential to do the work at a comparatively lesser time than the machines used by big construction houses. You may have witnessed some companies using machines that seemed to have served the military. Well, it all works this way. Once the heavy equipment gets older or outdated and the engineers in the military feel that they no longer need their services, it will auctioned at dirt cheap price to the civilians. These heavy equipment still have their worth in sectors other than military and therefore you will get to see large number of potential buyers interested to buy such machines.

Other than that the quality of metal used in such machines is outstanding and hence everybody knows that they will end up buying something worthy at a lesser price. The US military not only used heavy equipment produced by American heavy equipment manufacturing companies. They do not mind going for machines that are produced by French, German, Canadian or Australian companies. They primarily need quality to be number one and second the machine should deliver by consuming less time.

There is not set model of a machine. They may produce a dozer and make it look like something else. It may not look like a dozer that we all know. It may not necessarily be deceptive but the model that is used for military purpose is quite unique but will be highly reliable and efficient.

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Knowledge always pays off in the heavy equipment and construction sector

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A man with abundant knowledge is respected and greeted well wherever he goes and specifically if he intends to make money by selling his knowledge, he will have many takers. We currently live in a society where people tend to know more about gadgets and less about the industry they are in. This does not mean that they should not know about gadgets but this means that they should give equal importance to the subject they are dealing with and therefore it becomes very hard to find someone who is an expert in their respective domain. We are perhaps more attuned to things that are kind of not so important to us and less interested in what we should know. Other than that, many people like to keep themselves restricted to the work they are doing. It seems that they have killed their hunger of learning something new in life. The curiosity has just died down and this seems to be a very dangerous sign.

Keeping the current trend into consideration, many heavy equipment companies are hiring people who have enormous knowledge in their field and are also paying them handsomely to work for them. Something that was abundant at one point in time is now rare to get and for which companies are ready to pay good sum figures to ace engineers and machine designers. Knowledge does not necessarily come out of books. In order to get more knowledge, one has to work endlessly and also have the urge to learn more. It is only then that he will get to learn new things in life. If you get to check with some real good engineers that deal into manufacturing of heavy equipment, you will find that they used to work for hours at a stretch just to understand how things work and what can be done differently to simplify things for the comfort of the user.

Time was only restricted to a word for them as they did not know the literal meaning of it. Companies like Caterpillar, Hitachi, and John Deere are said to have such experts working for them which is why they are such renowned heavy equipment manufacturing companies. People who use their equipment do not want to switch to any other brand. They have complete faith on their products and know that it will last for many years. It is very difficult to generate this kind of trust in the minds of the user. You can only get this trust if you can give them the number one product that you have manufactured and every product of yours should be number one.

Heavy equipment industry is a highly rewarding industry. Many people have made their career being a part of this industry and are dwelling a decent live. However, in order to get to this place they had gone through rigorous training and acquired enough knowledge which they have used for the development of the company and for the betterment of the users.

 

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Gold mining heavy equipment is a must in a mining site

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Like the construction industry, mining industry is an equally profit making industry with people making good money being employees of a mining company. Especially, when the mining company is in to extracting gold from the earth you do not require any special heavy equipment to do so. The one which is been used in a construction site like an excavator or a backhoe loader can also be used in a gold mining site. However in addition to this, it may require few specific components but overall it has no major difference as far as the equipment are concerned. Though gold mining is one of the most profitable businesses in the entire mining sector but it needs precision while you get to the bottom of the metal. Other than that, one also needs to consider the safety measures while you are into the mining sector. There are many accidents that have been reported due to mere negligence or for not following very simple safety rules. One has to always follow the fundamentals of the safety structures or else it can become really dangerous for the people involved in it.

The role of an excavator in the gold mining industry is immense. Along with the excavator equipment like Jaw Crusher and Hammermill are equally important. Some of the equipment may be a part of small sized machines but have a huge role to play in the gold mining industry. There are people who believe in making heavy equipment for gold mining on their own but it requires great deal of training and learning in order to become capable of making those equipment on your own. Therefore, it is advisable that if you like to see your career taking shape in the gold mining industry, first try to work for a mining industry and learn how exactly one gets to the metal and then you start playing with things and take rational decisions on heavy equipment. If you don’t have much knowledge about equipment needed in the gold mining sector, it is better that you stick to the basics and try to avail some information from the website.

Buying of heavy equipment should not be a problem as you can make good use of websites that sells heavy equipment online. There you can get all sorts of equipment depending upon the nature of your business. For instance, companies that are huge in size can go for big machines and the ones that are not so big can go for equipment that suit their purpose. Overall, the websites has everything for everyone. Most of the heavy equipment manufacturing companies also list their items on the website but that is not so often. Ideally, it is the dealers who list the items on the site. You should check if they have any offers for you. Normally, offers are mentioned in the listing but still if you feel like checking it out directly with the person selling it online, you have the liberty to do so.

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The Proper Ways of Preparations for Bad Ground

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The construction industry frequently suffers from various problems that result due to the poor conditions of the grounds that are often overlooked. It goes without mention that the affectivity of all construction equipment will rely heavily on how the condition of the construction grounds are. If you need to drive a heavy machine in the construction ground, it is very important that you make sure that the ground is strong enough to withstand the force and the weight of the machine. At the same time it is very important to put pads or cribbing under your feet so that the load could be spread out while deploying stabilizers or outriggers. This is a very important step as far as the reduction of the bearing pressure of the ground is concerned.

It is to be noted that a lot of problems regarding bad grounds could be avoided with proper planning. Therefore, it would be quite important to have a thorough knowledge of geology as well as soil mechanics. It is important that all the essential information regarding the construction ground are gathered and analyzed. Identification of the exact conditions of the ground is going to play a very important role in this regard. However, there are various other aspects such as the source of the information, verification and legal liabilities that have to be considered as well. It is also very important that the amount of money and time that is to be invested for the investigation of the site so that the ground conditions can be explored. Ill prepared grounds can be very dangerous for construction.

It is highly detrimental to take decisions based on assumptions in the construction industry. It is true that a lot of experience can bring the ability to judge certain situations. However, two situations are hardly the same and so it is important to run the tests on the ground conditions on a more applied level in order to ensure safety. Misinterpretations of assumptions can be simply asking for accidents in construction sites. It is not very unusual for operators with ample experience to be inexperienced or not so familiar with outrigger mats and the science of it. a good guide would know when to pick wood over plastic or why it is better to go with pads that are 100mm thick as compared to 50 mm ones.

It is important to stick to the guidelines so that you can construct with ease and safety. However, it would be not be wise to rely on any source that you find on the internet. Among a few important documents on the subject the following is a trustworthy source: Ground Conditions for Constructing Plant is a practice guide that has been developed by the UK Strategic Forum for Construction. Although it is at a developing stage at the moment, you can get the final version by the end of the current year. Although some of the issues pertaining to legalities are quite specific to the readership of the UK but the guidelines on engineering and physics are universal.

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Construction equipment manufacturing companies putting stress on producing environment friendly machines

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Innovation is the key for any industry and so it is in case of heavy equipment manufacturing companies. They give a lot of importance to innovation and work relentlessly to make better products for the end user. They understand that in order to survive in this industry, they need to come out with products that are little different from others and especially when they have already established a brand name they do not want that to get ruined. Recently, their focus is to produce machines that are environment friendly and the reason they feel they should be putting their focus there is because of the tremendous increase in air pollution.

Air pollution has been a major cause of concern for everybody and more so to the owners of the construction companies. Many construction workers are falling sick due to inhaling toxic air and many are coming up with various kinds of serious respiratory ailments. They just can’t afford to lose their workers to such respiratory ailments and hence they are also looking forward to machines that are eco-friendly. Construction manufacturing companies are already in the process of producing machines that runs on gas and not diesel. What they came to know through various surveys is that diesel machines are major contributor or toxicants in the environment and if they can be replaced by eco-friendly machines then that will make things far better for everyone.

Government is setting laws to reduce release of intoxicants:-

Governments of many countries are also aware of the menace diesel run machines are causing to the environment and hence they are also making laws that could prevent the release of toxic gas in the environment. They have urged to the construction and mining companies to take due notice of this issue and to act accordingly. These companies on the other hand have moved to the heavy equipment manufacturing companies and specified their demands to them. It is quite evidently going to take some time for them to produce bio-friendly machines in large numbers especially when there are still some small companies that would prefer to work with diesel run machines. They say that they do not work on a larger scale due to which they do not do more harm to the environment. Government is also not going too strict with them but is keeping a close watch on what the big companies are doing.

Will save a lot of money that is otherwise used to buy diesel:-

Construction companies spend a fortune for buying diesel to run their machines. If they switch over to environment friendly machines, then they save a lot of money that they otherwise spend on buying diesel. The price of gas required to run such machines are not much and hence the day is not far when most of the construction companies will demand for these kinds of machines. Though the price of eco-friendly machines are quite higher than the ones that run on diesel but still it is worth buying in order to keep our workplace safe and healthy for everyone.

Suction or Vacuum Excavator: Most Effective Construction Vehicle

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Are you looking for heavy equipment that has the capability to dig potholes without damaging the existing utility wires under the ground? If your answer is ‘yes’, then without wasting any more time on browsing the other websites, read the following discussion and get to know about the most effectual heavy equipment for the accomplishment of your purpose.

Vacuum or suction excavator is a construction automobile which has the capacity to dig exact and clear-cut potholes without leaving behind any muddle. Vacuum exhuming is a technique of applying air or water to excavate holes around the existing useable cables with the purpose of rendering them without any damage. As, loads of wires and pipes are assembled under the ground, there are strict guidelines for the contractors regarding the drilling technique of the land.

Applications of Suction or Vacuum Excavator

Vacuum excavator is transportable and twofold purpose weighty paraphernalia which is used to dig holes with high pressure water or air and with the help of varied potent vacuum systems. For electrical tasks, this suction excavator is employed in accomplishing several power line projects like setting up underground wires for traffic signal, lighting work in streets and highways and so on. This excavator is widely used in following areas:

  • Vacuum scathing produced by pavement saws.
  • Preeminent heavy apparatus for cleaning duct banks, manholes and vaults.
  • This excavator helps the construction sites to remain free from the drilling liquid that mostly surge from bore fissures.
  • It can easily dig small-sized trenches in less space area where the contractors are unable to bring any heavy excavating equipment.
  • This vacuum excavator has the ability to excavate holes easily for assembling light poles and other utilities.

Reasons to Choose Vacuum Excavator in Construction Site

In construction heavy equipment industry, vacuum excavator is acknowledged as the effectual damage avoidance apparatus best applied for digging holes under the ground surrounded by useable pipelines and flexes. Here in the below cited points, you will get to know about the several benefits of suction excavator:

  • Majority of the construction business owners consider this heavy equipment as the preeminent for cleaning mud and valve boxes.
  • This excavator can be measured as big-sized wet-dry vacuum that has the ability to eradicate easily any type of material whether solid or liquid.
  • It is a cost-effective construction weighty vehicle that never creates pointless congestion.
  • This excavator has the ability to be employed on varied types of utilities like thermal, water and gas distribution methods.
  • Depending on the condition of the soil and the kind of excavator, the machinist can easily dig a pothole of 12 inch square and 5 foot deep.
  • Often, it is utilized for excavating pole holes and acts as a vacuum for extracting water from the duct bank after a heavy rain.

Nowadays, construction business possessors get plenty of options to find the best excavating heavy equipment manufacturers through internet. So, if you want to make your construction business productive, order upgraded version of suction excavator right now.

Construction equipment fuel consumption chart

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While many construction companies are spending a good deal of money in doing some research work pertaining to what can be done to reduce fuel consumption and continue with the same productivity. They are yet to come out with some solid answers. Though many heavy equipment producing companies are already in the mode of producing machines that they claim are fuel efficient but it seems that in order to make it fuel efficient they have to cut short some features of the machine somewhere which is not appreciated by the construction companies. What the construction companies are looking for is a solution to this problem which does not compromise on the existing features. So you just can’t take away what you have already given in order to make lives a bit comfortable. It is perhaps not the way it works. The heavy equipment companies have to come out with some solid solutions that do not play around with what they already have.

This has led to the need of creating a chart so that the companies can analyze where things are going wrong and what they can do to fix it. They also have to keep into consideration the cost that they will incur in making a machine which is highly fuel efficient as that might not have proportionate number of buyers. So overall, they might find themselves to be in a bigger problem which they might never want to be in the first place.

Komatsu has introduced PC200-8 Hybrid excavator which shows an exorbitant reduction in fuel consumption. It claims that the Hybrid excavator is able to reduce fuel consumption by around 25% than the conventional excavators sold by the company. They are also planning to make their machines more eco-friendly. This has been a challenge that many heavy equipment companies are facing for many years. As per their claims, they also state that there has been a fuel reduction of maximum 41% on sites where the upper structure of the machine turns more often. In their tests they have taken 3 different types of companies. First is the one that deals with waste soil disposal, another is into civil engineering and the third one does sludge disposal. The PC200-8 Hybrid excavator has shown up to 30% fuel reduction in the first company, 31% in the second company and the maximum was 41% in the third company.

Simultaneously there are other heavy equipment companies that have jumped in the race of producing machines that are fuel efficient and also provides a great deal of comfort to its users. Caterpillar wanted to ensure that people keep their trust on its products and do not change their loyalties to other companies and therefore they have brought in a series of different kinds of machines that are fuel efficient. However, the next big question that comes up is that are buyers ready to pay the cost of machines that promises of fuel reduction. Well, there are few giant construction and mining companies that are more interested in saving fuel and hence they would like to go for such products but for the rest, they have to wait for the prices of such machines to go little down.

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The Latest Machine from the House Of Terex

As you know, Terex us one if the finest names in the world when it comes to making constructing equipment. You would be glad to know that the company has launched a couple of new models in its range of the backhoe loaders in the last few months. These two models are known as the TLB850 and the TLB990. The former is in the budget end while the latter is in the top end. According to Terex, the TLB850 which is cost effective equipment is more if a backhoe loader that is of the entry level. The primary aim of this equipment is apparently at hire markets. The base weight of the equipment is about 8230 kg. The machine is a bit beefy when compared to the 840 that weighs 7210kg. It comes with a newly designed hydraulic system with valves of central control that is closed. The new model also comes with an engine of 70Kw Perkins. The dimensions are more or less same as the previous version for this model. The digging depth of the model is about 5.39 meters. According to Terex, due to the new hydraulic system makes the operation of the dipper, boom, the bucket and the extender quite smooth.

The second version that has been designed by Terex is known as the Terex TLB 990. The operating weight of this machine is about 8248 kg. The weight of this version is not very different from the former version but the engine is of 74.5kw Perkins. The digging depth of the equipment is also about 5.64 meters. The 970 has been upgraded to build the new 990. Therefore, it comes with maximum torque which in turn makes the road and the loading performance of the machine much more improved. There has been a six percent increase in the break out force of the dipper. Operating the machine has become very easy after the simplification of the control panels. If you go for the servo models you will be able to get more foot space as the auxiliary operation models are not present.

Jon Beckley who is the product manager of the Terrex backhoe loader says that the key requirements of customers were productivity, versatility and comfort of the operator according to the research for the design of the new equipment. According to him, the designs of the new models will enable to meet all the above mentioned requirements that have surfaced at the time of the research. According to him, the breakout forces, the pushing power and the turning circle makes the new model a very productive and versatile option in the construction world. The general manager of Terex, Neal Nowick says that the 990 has been designed with new technologies and technical advances. He also says that it is one of the most significant developments as far as backhoes are in concern. Therefore, if you are considering new digging machines, these two models from Terex can prove to be an excellent option for you.

 

 

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