8 Different Types of Heavy Construction Equipment
Due to the increasing number of industrial, residential, and commercial structures, heavy construction machinery has become the most purchased across the market. These are devices used to handle heavy tasks that human hands and other inferior equipment wouldn’t otherwise manage. The tools are a big deal to the construction industry as they boast numerous benefits.
Understanding different heavy construction equipment, especially if you’re a constructor, is important to make more informed decisions. With adequate knowledge regarding construction equipment, you can earn a living from training new and aspiring constructors. Above all, purchase from a trusted dealer for more effective and efficient results.
This guide will discuss some of the most popular heavy construction equipment and their uses.
Type #1: Bulldozers
A bulldozer is a track-like tractor that comes with crawlers and substantial blades at the front. This equipment is used in various construction areas such as land levelling, site preparation, and earthmoving tasks. You will likely find bulldozers in home renovation, demolition operations, road construction, land clearing, or farming.
The blade is used to push building materials, dirt, snow, and sand. Therefore, various bulldozers include the semi-universal combination blade, curved universal blade, edgeless straight blade, and flat blade.
Type #2: Cranes
Cranes couldn’t miss in the list of heavy construction equipment due to their vast nature. The highly-raised equipment is used to lift and move substantial objects from one point to another, either horizontally or vertically. Construction cranes come in different types, including mobile, static, tower, hammerhead, luffing job, self-erecting, level luffing, crawler, vehicle-mounted, and carry deck cranes.
Type #3: Concrete Mixer and Pump
As the name suggests, a concrete mixer is a special truck constructed to mix concrete or cement while transporting it to the construction site. The truck is filled with materials, water, cement, and others, while the blending occurs during transit.
Some constructors load the vehicles with readily mixed concrete before transportation, especially when the distance in discussion is insignificant. On the other hand, concrete pumps are used to pump the blended concrete out of the truck at the construction site.
They come in two types, line and boom concrete pumps, whereby the latter uses a remote-controlled arm to pump the concrete at a specific spot. Line concrete pumps are often mounted on trucks alongside hoses attached to them and directed to the defined location of the concrete.
Type #4: Excavators
Suppose there’s a heavy construction material that you’ll hardly miss in a construction site, whether medium or large-scale, is an excavator. This robust equipment contains an excavator cabin (360 degrees rotatable while in operation) attached to a bucket and a long arm.
Excavators can be used to demolish, haul, or excavate, regardless of the terrain. You can find them in various sizes for different applications, including large for large-scale excavations, medium for moderate operation, and small for small-scale and home-based tasks.
Type #5: Pile Drivers
A pile driver is equipment used to insert substantial construction posts and piles into the ground for a more solid foundation. The standard pile driver comes with a crane, hammer, cushion, leads, and template, each with its unique application. You can find them in different types, including hydraulic impact hammers, vibratory pile drivers, and diesel hammers.
Type #6: Forklifts
While they cover short distances, forklifts are classified as heavy construction equipment because they help to move heavy-weight and complicated items around the site. Various types of forklifts are suited for different applications, such as warehouses for moving construction items to the storage bay, pallet jacks for moving pallets across the site, and side loaders. Some benefits of using forklifts at construction sites include increased safety, efficiency, and productivity.
Type #7: Motor Graders
Motor or road graders are rotatable equipment with extended, narrow blades (moldboards). The equipment is often used to level or grade surfaces in constructing foundations and roads.
They can control the intensity of the blade to ensure it doesn’t over or under-level a surface. You can also find motor graders in snow removal, construction, and other building projects. Due to their risky nature, an expert must operate motor graders to avoid accidents or poor levelling.
Type #8: Drum Rollers
Drum or compact and road rollers are drum-like machines attached to a vehicle and used to level and smoothen building terrain, especially on roadways. The equipment is very strong and can quickly transform a rough surface filled with stones into a fine one.
There are two main types of drum rollers, smooth rollers, which aim at achieving a smooth surface out of dirt, sand, or gravel, and Padfoot rollers, which function nearly similarly to smooth ones but don’t attain the same degree of fineness.
How to Choose Heavy Construction Equipment
There are various factors that constructors must consider when choosing heavy construction materials for the best services possible. The type of project you wish to pursue must align with the specific equipment acquired since different tasks require different equipment.
Your project’s size and intensity should match the equipment’s power. For instance, using large-scale construction equipment on a small project would be uneconomical, while small equipment might not handle heavy tasks.
You must be aware of the maintenance costs of certain machinery before acquiring them to ensure they align with your financial strength. Also, acquiring high-quality heavy construction equipment is highly advisable to avoid sudden breakdowns and endless repairs.
