Monthly Archives: February 2013

John Deere Equipment: The machine that brought revolution in the agricultural and construction

John Deere Equipment: The machine that brought revolution in the agricultural sector.

Farming has never been that great as it is today and all credit goes to the American legend named John Deere. He was the mind behind the green tractor we can see on the fields which brought a revolution in the agricultural sector. Well, if you are thinking that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had all the resources at his disposal to make this happen, and then you got to change your thoughts soon. This is because the present article would talk about his early life and how he got transformed into a legend and managed to change the very face of farming.

John Deere was a college dropout and didn’t have much formal education. He lost his father at a young age and his mother who was a blacksmith trained him to become one. His life took a turn when his blacksmithing company got bankrupt and he had to sell it off to his father-in-law. He then went to Illinois and started working as a blacksmith. During that time, there were hardly any blacksmith in that area and hence he had absolutely no trouble in finding some work there. He produced his first plow in 1837 and since then there was no turning back for him. In the coming years, he sold many plows to the local farmers and was constantly getting orders to produce ninety to 100 plows every year.

This is how he became a legend and gave his best in the field of agricultural equipments. After his demise the business was handled by his son. This was all about John Deere.

Posthumously, his company expanded its wings and flew higher in the sky. John Deere’s company purchased a tractor manufacturing company named “The Waterloo Tractor Company” and since then it was his tractors that farmers trusted the most. Very soon, the company came up with a new model named “The John Deere Model A”. It had three wheeled design and was considered to be one of the best tractors then. Slowly and steadily, they brought in technology and the tractor became more refined which proved a great deal to the farmers. This led to many such inventions in the field of agriculture where the farmers were gifted with technologically advanced equipments at a price they can easily afford to buy. The machines manufactured by John Deere’s company were long lasting and they still continue the trend of delivering performance over their peers.

John Deere’s company did not limit itself to domestic farming. They went beyond that and tried their luck in commercial farming. In the year 1956, they invented the “420 Crawler Loader”. It had the loader bucket in the front that made it look like a bulldozer.

Apart from the big machines manufactured by John Deere’s company, they also take pride in claiming that they have produced numerous small agricultural equipments that are beneficial to the farmers in ample of ways. Thus, a noble deed started by John Deere has now taken the shape of a mighty company creating many more success stories for us to read.

 

 

 

High performance Caterpillar Scraper

Scrapers are machines which are mostly used in mines to take off the soil from the earth and fill them in the hopper; which when gets full is covered with an erect blade and moved to the place where it is supposed to get dumped. It is also used in construction sites but mainly can be seen working in mining fields. We all know for sure how efficient caterpillar machines are but here we would be talking in brief about the features and utilities of caterpillar Scraper.

Caterpillar is known for manufacturing different designs of products which caters to both construction and mining business alike. They have recently come up with a new model of scraper which has a much more powerful engine as compared to its predecessors and has the ability to work for more number of hours than it could do earlier. This new engine has the capacity of producing 410 horsepower which is more than 18 percent as compared to its previous models. Higher horsepower means more productivity as the engine has more power to pull extra stuff and gets the work done in a shorter duration. At the same time, Caterpillar has designed a new torque converter to give more power to the machine. They have also increased its capacity from 2 cubic yards to 24 cubic yards and have achieved a remarkable feet in the history of Scraper.

The engine also has a new cooling system that enhances the productivity of the Scraper by reducing jamming and thereby increases its efficiency. The machine has been fitted with “Next Generation Modular Radiators” which has 9 fins per inch comparatively far lesser than the previous models which had 33 fins per inch. This has increased the space in the machine and has relatively helped in reducing congestion in various applications.  The engine of the Scraper uses a poly-vee belt and also replaces the manual tensioning by updating it with automatic belt tensioning. They have also reduced the number of belts of the engine from four to two. Something worth stating about the machine is that the fan drive bearings in the Scraper do not require any servicing and can go on for years. On the contrary, the previous models required servicing after an interval of every 250 hours.

The Caterpillar 657 G scraper has a single lever implement control that merges the apron, bowl and ejector in a single joystick. It means that the operator only needs the joystick to elevate or lessen the bowl or to activate the apron and the ejector. It has specifically made life a lot simpler for the operator who otherwise had to work on each single function in order to get the work done. Also want to highlight the fact that the Scraper has been incorporated with a combination grab handle and a hand rest near the “joystick implement control” which helps the operator to rest his arm and eventually allows him to work for more hours.

Caterpillar Scrapers are undoubtedly one of the best machines they have produced and their constant effort towards modernizing the design has helped them earn several accolades from their critics.

History of Komatsu Equipment

Komatsu equipment are said to be the most trusted and reliable equipment and perhaps this is why after Caterpillar, they are the second largest producer of construction equipment in the world. The company makes more than 70% of its income by selling equipments pertaining to mining and construction. The equipment they sell comprises of hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, motor graders, dump trucks etc. Thus, Komatsu are into almost all heavy equipments. However, they have not limited themselves to manufacturing construction equipments. They also have their hands in producing electronic items like silicon wafers and polycrystalline silicon. They seem to earn around 7% of their revenue by producing these electronic items. Thus Komatsu are multi producers and have their hands on ample of stuffs which prove them as market leaders as far as construction and mining equipments are concerned.

Komatsu came into existence in the year 1921, when the ironworks parted their ways from the mining company and thus formed a new company. The founder of Komatsu was Tashiro Shiraishi who was an engineer by profession and also became the first president of the company until 1925. During his tenure, the company became a major producer of pumps and equipment tools. As a matter of fact, Tashiro Shiraishi gave the company the much needed momentum and drove it to a stable position form where it accelerated and became a mighty business house.

The saga of its growth can be easily analyzed by the number of workers that kept on increasing on a constant basis. The number of employees had risen dramatically from 121 in 1921 to 742 in 1929 which is a big achievement in itself. It particularly depicts the fact that employees working in the company were happy and the work culture that the company formed only helped its employees to grow.

In 1960, Komatsu equipments were in huge demand especially during the Vietnam War and it expanded like a jet. During the end of the decade, it introduced a new radio-controlled bulldozer which was termed to be a major achievement. At that time, they had Caterpillar as their major competitor and they chalked out many plan to surpass them. They keenly started monitoring the performance of Caterpillar and laid their strategies with the view to outshine them in the near future. Their way of strategizing the work and setting up priorities helped them a long way in achieving their goals and becoming a successful company within a short span. They expanded their operations very aggressively and within 20 years they grew from a local producer to a giant exporter and a strong competitor.

It was only in the year 1970 that the company started its first direct investment in USA. Soon after that, operations in other foreign lands began and in the year 1975, it started manufacturing bulldozers in Brazil making it the first production of construction equipment outside its homeland. Since then, there has been no looking back for Komatsu and slowly it expanded its operations in many other foreign countries. Komatsu has no longer been a domestic name. It has now been transformed and has become a symbol of quality, reliability and efficiency.

Which one is the best – Caterpillar D6T Dozer or John Deere 850 Dozer

Which one is the best – Caterpillar D6T Dozer or John Deere 850 Dozer

Having the right set of tools is very important in any sort of business and when you are in construction industry, it becomes all the more important to get your act right. You got to ensure that starting from a needle to a dozer, everything is in working condition and things won’t go off at the time you need them the most. Being into construction business where you have deadlines and have to get the work done under a stipulated time frame, it is quite imperative that you have the best machines to carry out the operations.

Here we would be talking about the features of one of the most critical equipment in the construction business and that is none other than a bulldozer.  At present there are few companies that are renowned for manufacturing quality bulldozers and out of them; we would be targeting Caterpillar D6T and John Deere 850 Dozers.

Caterpillar D6T Dozers:  Many construction houses use this dozer for their operations. It is renowned for its quality, high efficiency and low maintenance cost and is considered as the most trusted dozer manufactured by the brand Caterpillar. While framing the design for this dozer, the engineers paid special attention towards increasing its productivity, reduction in emissions and to lessen the operating cost without hampering the quality and design of its lineage. Several other features have been added which includes service centers at the ground level that permits the battery to get detached and the engine automatically turn off the switches. This saves the time and energy of the person operating the machine as he does not have to climb on the dozer to get that done manually.

Special attention has been given to the cabin which gives lot of space to the person working inside the cabin. He can easily move in and come out of the cabin without brushing his arms or knocking his head with any parts of the machine. They have also set up new cooling package, a hydraulic fan and an electronic engine control that plays an instrumental role in saving at least 6% of the fuel. Overall, Caterpillar has ensured that it gives the best to you and it should worth every penny you pay to the company.

John Deere 850 Dozers:  John Deere is another such company which is renowned for producing quality machineries and out of the many machines they have produced, the 850 Dozers have quite evidently left its mark in the mind of big construction companies across US. The 850 dozer has been built with the notion to cater construction companies who are extensively looking for a solid waste disposal machine and which can work in an extra rough terrain without breaking down in the middle. It is equipped with a semi U blade which is at the outside of the machine and is mounted upwards that helps it to easily carry the thrash and dump it out.

This machine has a reverse fan that can be used to change its direction after every 30, 60 or 90 minutes. It can also be activated from the seat of the operator as and when he feels the need to do so. Doing this helps the machine to keep its engine cool and that ultimately increases its productivity.

John Deere 850 Dozers continues to give strong competition to its competitors and its business rivals by introducing new features and developing the machine to cater the needs of the construction business.

The history of Caterpillar equipment

We have often come across many construction sites where we get to see huge machines digging up the surface of the earth and throwing off the mud at a place from where it can be collected and dumped at the dump-yard. The machines are of great help to construction workers as they can get the work done in few days which could have otherwise taken months to complete. It also makes sense to think what made the person who gave birth to the idea to build such big machines that brought revolution in the construction industry.

We would be specifically discussing the inception of caterpillar equipments and how it managed to become a brand in such a short time. If we dig deep into history, we’ll find that Caterpillar was formed way back than its inception in the year 1925. The story goes like this. Benjamin Holt, who was the owner of a company that manufactured steam tractors wanted to improve the mobility and grip of the tractors his company produced. He therefore, swapped the wheels with wooden tracks that were fastened with chains. While he was trying his invention out in the field, one of the bystanders looking at his innovation could not resist himself from saying that the machine crawled like a caterpillar. Hearing this, Holt thought that he has now got a name for his invention and this is how the name caterpillar came into existence. In the year 1986, caterpillar changed the name of the company “Caterpillar Tractor Company” to “Caterpillar Inc”.

Caterpillar machines played a pivotal role in the area of construction and building roads. Their journey, since the inception, is filled with achievements that motivated them to produce technologically savvy equipments. They expanded and sold their products both domestically as well as internationally. They sold around 93 Caterpillar equipments to the Indian government to help them build better roads. In the same fashion, their machines also helped Venezuela to construct a 10.5 mile superhighway through the Andes Mountain. This made life simpler for transporters who had to use the longer way to transport their goods on a daily basis. One of the biggest contributions of these machines was during the 1956 Olympics held at Melbourne. These machines were of huge help as they played a significant role towards the completion of the event sites. The contribution of Cat machines has been phenomenal and it continues to serve the world community with its high-tech know-how and state of the art designs.

Beside the contribution of Caterpillar to the world community, how it grew as a company over the years and its achievements over the last few decades is worth mentioning. Mentor, an Ohio based company was acquired by CAT during its effort to increase its forklift line. There are also few international acquisitions under its belt. They managed to acquire Perkins Limited which was a UK company that produced small diesel engines. They also took over a German company that produced gas and diesel power-driven engines.

CAT is undoubtedly the market leader which has been possible with their consistent endeavor to bring something new to the world and keeping into consideration the benefits of the common man.

 

History of Case equipment

Case equipment has a rich history that inspires all of us and particularly to people who looks at things in a different angle which others fail to see. Jerome Case was one such person who was not sacred to see the world in his own unique way and perhaps that is the reason why he is termed as an inventor and has succeeded in inventing so many equipments both for agricultural and commercial purposes. Case company was started in Racine in 1842 to produce threshing machines. As time passed by, Case achieved worldwide acknowledgment in being the first person to build steam engines. The engines were build solely for agricultural purpose, however it is now known as the world’s largest producer of steam engines.

Case never wanted to end it up by producing steam engines all his life. He had some bigger plans and worked very hard to implement them all. Therefore, in the year 1912, Case had set his foot in the construction equipment segment and started producing equipments used for construction purposes. His strategies were clear and so were his intentions. He wanted to become big in producing heavy equipments required in the construction industry and for which he knew, he had to bring in innovative ideas which can eventually shape up the company he has dreamt off.   

The company grew by leaps and bounds and was growing exactly the way Case wanted it to grow. The company after stepping its foot in the construction equipment industry, it became a leading producer of equipments like steam rollers and road grader which are widely required for building roads. In order to become a big ticket company, it had to go through several acquisitions and it first acquired “American Tractor Corporation”. Before the acquisition, both the companies were developing a technology which if collaborated together can result in a lethal combination which will serve the construction business in a much broader way. Case thus acquired the “American Tractor Corporation” and invented the first tractor loader/backhoe. Very soon, there were other versions of tractor loader and they were built by keeping the requirement of the user into consideration.

The company was very much walking on the footsteps of its founder where innovation was the key and the newest technologically driven equipments were given utter importance. Down the line, Case started producing all sorts of construction equipments like Hydraulic Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Skid Steer Loaders, and Telescopic Handlers. Case has always ensured that its products should not falter in quality, durability and should last for as many years as it can.

Case takes pride to introduce new equipments in the market where it’s surrounded by other big fishes which makes competition tougher. Under such a competitive environment, Case markets its product without giving any false commitments and ensures to keep its image clean. Throughout its journey from manufacturing steam engines to all sorts of heavy as well as construction equipments, Case has undoubtedly managed to maintain its excellence in the world market and has proven to be a company one can rely on.

Operating a Compaction Roller- Knowing the Basics

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Thinking of joining the construction arena? Or are you already a part of it? Then, you must be aware of the fact that the use of heavy equipment in the construction industry is an integral part of the whole affair. And among the many kinds of heavy equipment that are put to use in the construction site, the compaction roller definitely holds a significant importance.

What Is A Compaction Roller?

The first and the foremost thing that needs to be mentioned in this regard is that the compaction roller, specifically, is part of the road construction industry. You must have noticed those big machines with large wheels riding to and from on a particular stretch of road in an attempt to level and make the soil ready to build a road on it. Yes, you got it right. That is the compaction roller. The compaction roller is of great significance in the arena of road construction as the quality of the compaction of soil will ultimately decide the quality of the road that is being built. Hence, there can be no doubt about the fact that the compaction roller forms an important part of the entire business of road construction.

Compaction Roller- How Does It Work?

Now that we know what a compaction roller is, it would also do good to know about the basic mode of its operation. Let us look at things from the very beginning. The initial process of compaction involves the use of “pad foot drum rollers”. The pads, in this case, ensure that a smaller amount of surface area of the substrate is covered by the roller, thereby, making the compaction attain a greater density. “Pad foot drum rollers” look after the flat portion of the soil for you. But what about the parts that has bumps and hurdles? How are they dealt with? Enter “single smooth drum compactors” which are perfectly suited to cater to the needs of those stretches that have bumps on them, compressing and flattening them to provide a smooth finish to the compaction process. The entire thing is done in association with a motor grader so as to ensure the complete leveling of the surface. It is often seen that a pneumatic tire roller is also employed so as to knead the surface of the road and attain a better finishing touch.

The final stage in the entire compaction affair is the compaction of the road base, which is finished off with the help of a “smooth single drum roller” or the “smooth tandem roller” coupled together with a motor grader. The last but not the least is the putting the layers of asphalt on the compacted stretch to build a durable road. And this is a feat that is achieved by the help of pavers. The asphalt, after the entire procedure, is then compacted further with the help of a “tandem smooth drum” or a /’pneumatic tire roller”. And lo! A road becomes ready for the use of pedestrians and vehicles.